Memory Keeping Monday

I have a few layouts to share with your this lovely (all be it cold) Monday morning.

These two layouts were designed to go along with Jessica Sprague's Photoshop Friday series, as examples of other ways to make the theme your own.

First up is from PSF 2012 : Create a Custom Brush 
I chose to make a custom brush from the lovely background paper by Glitz Girls' Cashmere Dame Kit. I instantly fell in love with the fun hexagon pattern and painterly feel of the paper.

isn't she lovely Glitz Girls -Cashmere Dame (background paper) - coming soon!

Dani Mogstad
All American Summer Complete Kit
Birds of a Feather Complete Kit
Flying High Complete Kit
Hometown Proud Complete Kit
Just Stay Little Complete Kit  

This page is from the latest PSF 2012: Use the Diamond Custom Shape

I used Jodie Lee's new Mixed Media Papers and loads of goodies from Jenni Bowlin Studios' mercantile series. 

picture of you Jodie Lee
Mixed Media Papers - coming soon!

Jenni Bowlin Studios
Mercantile Mix Paper Collection 2
Mercantile Mix Paper Collection 4
Mercantile Labels
Jeweled Butterflies
Printed Tickets Stars & Stats

Did I mention that Jessica Sprague is having their annual Holiday sale? 20% off classes and 30% off digital supplies. 

And this is just a fun little layout about the first signs of snow this season (it didn't amount to much), but my son ran out with our pup, who has never experienced the snow, and the fun the two had together ... didn't last too long as he was wearing short sleeves!

Snow Pup Splendid Fiins
kinda sketchy album templates-12x12
Winter Wonderland patterned paper
Teen (add-on) elements
see above for details -circle stamps  

The Holiday Sale is on at Jessica Sprague. 20% off currently registering classes (make great gifts!) and 40% off digital supplies! So awesome. 

Workshop Wednesday ... Getting Arty in 2013 and Illustrator

I don't know about you, but I am always on the hunt for creative classes. My interest range is great and I just love sitting down with a good class, a hot beverage and my Mac to learn some new techniques or gain some inspiration. I never know what creative sparks will fly.

If you're a fan of Illustrator, but maybe your Illustrator skills are a little rusty ... or maybe you still need to get a design implemented for this year's Holiday Card ... at ReneePearson.com, Laura Coyle has put her Holly Shop Illustrator Workshop on sale for just $15.

In this workshop, Laura will guide you through the process of creating three holiday greeting card designs in Illustrator from start to finish. You'll customize the designs with your own photos and messages, and send them to print to share with friends and family. Laura has lots of Illustrator classes to choose from.

After the holidays come and go, and the long winter of sitting around by the fireplace snuggled with a good book starts to get old (actually ... I'm not sure that ever gets old), but perhaps it would be a good time to get out from underneath that warm hand made quilt or wool blanket ... and start getting creative?


If your looking for something artsy to occupy yourself next year, I found these 3 workshops offered by Strathmore. They are free, online courses, each with its own focus. Sign up for one, or sign up for all three ... or maybe pass on to a good friend?



Strathmore 2013 FREE Online Workshops – early registration is now open!
Since you participated in our past online workshops, we wanted to let you know that registration is now open for the Strathmore 2013 FREE Online Workshops!

We have inspiring new topics, a new schedule and an improved platform for our virtual classroom. Here’s what we have planned:

Workshop 1: Abstract Fine Art Painting with Mixed Media
Start Date: March 1, 2013

Workshop 2: Sketching & Drawing with Toned Paper
Start Date: May 1, 2013

Workshop 3: Artful Card-Making Techniques
Start Date: September 3, 2013

Learn techniques from experienced artists through online videos and downloadable instructions. Get inspired from other students in our virtual classroom. Keep motivated with ideas and tips from your instructor.


I'm signed up for all three Strathmore workshops? Let me know if you have decided to take any?
Happy creating.
-xo Jenn 

Life Book 2013 ... are you in?

Yesterday I came across some interesting information about an online course. Life Book 2013, is a year long mixed media class created by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts. Life Book 2012 is currently running ... and if you go to Tam's website, you can read the testimonials for the current session. I'm told, from someone who is currently in the class, that there over 1000 participants! Imagine, 1000 like-minded friends coming together to paint, learn, share, grow and explore. Ah-mazing! And the line up of artists that are teaching, so incredible! If you are a scrapbooker, you'll probably recognize names like Christy Tomlinson, Dina Wakely and Melody Ross (yeah I know!).

Check out Tam's info page to learn more about how the class is set up, take a peek at the amazing artists that will be sharing their techniques and read some of the feedback. And then let me know if you are in. :)

Jessica Sprague 5th Birthday Bash starts Monday!

 

I've talked about this for a few days now, but seriously, did you register for the free Photoshop class yet? If yes, then how excited are you?! If no, then what are you waiting for? Even if you don't have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements you can download a free 30 day trial at Adobe's website.

Here's the schedule for the week's birthday celebration:

Can't wait until Monday! (It's not often that I find myself saying that outloud!)

-xoxo jenn

One more week of School ... What are your Kids doing this Summer Vacation?

Here in NY we still have another week of school. I know, it's crazy how late our kids get out! We have lots of camps planned for the month of July. The boy is doing a Gaming Tech Camp, 2 weeks of web design camp, and a week of Scouts overnight camp. (He's never done a week of away camp ... little nervous about that one, but I know he will LOVE it!) So excited for him. The girl is doing Art Camp, Soccer Camp and a Basketball camp. So lots of fun times are already planned.
But I know I will still hear the famous "Mom, I'm bored" in the evenings, on the weekends ... or in the afternoon on those days when camp is only half day.

SO... I have this little gem up my sleeve for the month of July.

Click Image to go to jessicasprague.com and see details for the class or to register.

Both of my kids are registered. It's just an additional $10 to add a sibling. Sweet! And the gist of the class is to teach kids to think more creatively when taking photos. Each day they will get a little picture taking assignment and a basic camera technique. Basic point and shoot, iphone cameras, etc recommended. The kids can post their images in a special gallery just for the class. So fun! 

And then maybe in August ... we'll create a smash book to keep all those fun images from their summer. 

And here are my latest digital layouts from this month: 

Zoo Days KI Memories: Wild LIfe Paper Pack
Jessica Sprague: Template 2.04

Rainbow Skies Dani Mogstad - Chasing Rainbows Full Kit - coming soon!

liv.e designs
Maskerade {Photo Masks}

Let Freedom RIng
Coming soon! Patriotic Picnic Elements and Paper Pack!

Liv.E Designs
Paint Swashes Vol.2
Paint Swashes Vol.3
Maskerade(for the tape strips) {Photo Masks}
Storyteller Frames - Bundle

Pink Paislee
Kraft Capers Paper Pack

Oh, and look for a BIG SUMMER SALE coming soon in my ETSY shop! -xoxo jenn

Free Photoshop Class and Birthday Celebration

Did you sign up yet? What are you waiting for? Jessica's Free Photoshop Class starts next week, Monday the 18th of June to be exact! All week we will be celebrating the site's 5th birthday over at JessicaSprague.com. Join the fun for speed scraps, giveaways and tutorials. See you there!

And last week I finished up the 3rd week of Candice Stringham's Portraiture class at jessicasprague.com.

I made a Soccer Photo Storyboard for my daughter's room:

 And got this shot of my daughter. 

 

 

This week we are learning about Group Photos. Oh boy! Wish me luck! ;)

Portraiture Photography with Candice Stringham

Hello. I'm back in class with Candice Stringham again. This time it's her Portraiture Class at jessicasprague.com. If you are interested in taking this class, follow the link and click the Notify Me button, to be updated as to when she offers it again.

The end of May was a crazy, busy and stressful time for me ... so I ended up being 2 weeks behind in class. But this past weekend I was able to catch up pretty easily. Here are some of the photos I took of my kids, after I bribed them with the promise of going out for Ice Cream!

Excited to continue shooting this week. Wonder what my next bribe will be. Any ideas out there?

And as always, here are the latest Digital Layouts:

Sweet Treats Echo Park Designs - Sweet Day Full Kit - coming soon!

Dani Mogstad - Hello Sunshine Full Kit - coming soon!
Hello Gorgeous Complete Kit

Splendid Fiins
@ the office supplies 1

-I loved the Hexagon paper in this kit, but I just needed to soften it a little for this layout, so I created a digital vellum overlay and offset it slightly.

 Playing in the Rain

Carina Gardner
PARIS & CO Ribbon Stash
PARIS & CO French Solid Paper Pack 2
Paris & Co. Lil Travel Journal Strips
PARIS & CO Provencial Plum Paper Pack
SUGAR AND SPICE - Diamond Dust
WELL TRAVELED Mini Ric Rac Set
DESIGN 365 - Color Kit 3

Echo Park
Hello, Spring Mini-Them

Mud Painting Liv.E Designs
Story Teller Frames Bundle - coming soon!
Paint It Up Vol.1
Wordlets Vol. 2 - Rub-Ons & Brush Set
EZ-PZ Template 08 - And Then
{Click-The Elements}
EZ-PZ Template 09 - This Is Love(love sticker)
GrungeaRound Vol.1 Masks & Brushes
Click! Paper Pack - The Solids
Freedom Is Good - Paper Pack: The Patterns
HeartPuffies

Free Class at JessicaSprague.com !!!

Register now for Jessica Sprague's Free class Photoshop Top 5. Class starts June 18th so grab your seat now. And remember, if you don't have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements yet, you can download a free 30 day trial from Adobe. Hope to see you in class!

And here are my layouts with the latest new digi goodies from the store:

What I Love about You Right Now Splendid Fiins
Knock Out - "clouds" mask
Knock Out - "xoxo" mask
very krafty-the neutrals
Evidence-paper pack
eclectic paper pack
4x6 camera love journaling cards
@ the office supplies 1

Echo Park: Hello Summer Element Pack #1
Little Girl Element Pack #1

Pink Paislee: Kraft Capers Paper Pack  

My Boy Liv.e Designs
GrungeaRound Vol.1 Masks & Brushes
Livin' It Up Mini Kit

Echo Park
This & That Charming Element Pack #1
This & That Charming Element Pack #2
This & That Charming Paper Pack #2

Nancie Rowe Janitz
Retro Spring Kit

The Penguins Pink Paislee
Love My Boy Element Pack
Love My Boy Paper Pack

Carina Gardner
ESSENTIALS - Stitches v1

Splendid Fiins
Flea Market - brads vol2

Liv.E Designs
EZ-PZ Template 05 - Five
Livin' It Up Mini Kit

Jenni Bowlins
Printed Tickets Stars & Stats

Remember This Splendid Fiins -
Knock Out - "starburst" mask
Teen (add-on) paper
Teen (add-on) elements
Tween (add-on) journal cards
very krafty-the neutrals
feedsack paper pack
feedsack element pack 2
delicious: very cherry paper pack
Sew Crafty - messy stitches vol 1
border punches -set two
see above for details - circle stamps

Hanging Around the Playground Splendid Fiins:
Knock Out - "right round" mask
Knock Out - "wood grain" mask
love yooo - photo frames
see below for details - journalers/frames
very krafty-the neutrals

pennant flag:
Bare Branches Accent Pack
Clementine Edition Paper Pack

Love that Face Echo Park
Woof Mini-Theme

Carina Gardner
ESSENTIALS - Stitches v1

Pink Paislee
Kraft Capers Paper Pack

Queen of Quirk
In Bloom Accent Pack

Free Holiday Class ...

What would December be without the annual free class with the amazing Jessica Sprague? It just started today, but it's not too late to register and grab your seat! Click HERE for details!

There are also 2 brand new classes that will start in 2012 - Digital Art Journaling and The Art of Poster Design.

And the best part is that those classes are on sale ... actually all of the classes currently open for registration are 20% off. All digi kits (excluding Becky Higgins) are 35% off during the Holiday Sale.

My Etsy Days of December Sale is going on all month. This week we have the favorite Zinnia flowers on sale for $6.00, a 40% discount. But hurry they are only on sale at that price (the lowest price ever!) until Dec 8th (12pm EST that's Noon!). Check back then for the new Deal of the week!

xoxo - jenn

School Rules ...

School Rules, that is, when Jessica Sprague is teaching. Are you in the all new Digi in Deeper Class for Photoshop? It is a blast! Jessica is showing us some of her amazing techniques as she guides us through various styles of Digitial Scrapbook Design. Take a peek at just of the pages I've done as I followed along with her lessons.

Creature Lover: Lesson 1



All Geared Up: Lesson 2

And over on jessicasprague.com Jan Crowley of Queen of Quirk is in the Designer Spotlight this week. Check out her interview, new product and of course, her freebie on the Digi Lovely Blog! :)

Here is one of Jan's latest collections, In Bloom. So gorgeous!




Blossom

And this is the gorgeous freebie, Old Boris, that Jan created for today.




That Smile

And here is a sneak peek at Nisa Fiin of Splendid Fiins' newest collection. It will be in the store on Monday. Think Spring. So cute!



Egg Hunt

Also...I"m still having a 15% off everything in my store sale. Both Etsy and PrettyinPosies.com accept the coupon: NewYear and will reduce your total by 15%.

It's supposed to be about 60 here today. That sure has me Thinking of Spring. Enjoy the long President's Day weekend if you are in the US.
best- xo Jenn

Your Orders From the Sale, A Free Class and a Dollar goes a long way!

Hey there! I have a few things to share with you today.

First: If you shopped my Sale this past week/weekend, a big huge super duper thank you to you. I am buried under Uline bubble mailers, scraps of wool felt and packaging tape. Seriously you should see my studio. It is out of control at the moment. Please know I am working as fast as I can to get your order out the door and on its way to you. :) I had wholesale orders, retail orders and lots of custom requests. Hoping to have all custom and retail orders out the door by Friday and most wholesale orders ready to go out by early next week. As always, you will receive a note from me when your order is ready for mailing.

Wholesale vendors, please please make sure your minimum purchases are at least $100 to utilize your discount. Fair? :) I think so, and I hope you do too!

Second: If you craft, create art or live to be inspired in any way .... check out this FREE, yes, Free new class by Jessica Sprague. Sign up and spread the word to all your friends! Click the image for more info & hope to see you in class.

Last: My newest layout. This template by Crystal is on sale at jessicasprague.com for just ONE BUCK. Check out all the digi goodies on sale for $1 today.

Skipping Stones

Title is made by mixing two fonts (Extra Ornamental No 2 & Font Leroy Brown) as shown in Jessica's class Up & Running. {Creativity by Crystal} Inspired by Susan Weinroth Template 6 - ON Sale for $1 Today! {The Room Collection} Paper Packs {The Room Collection} Element Pack October '09 Sweet {Eye Candy} Elements (word strips & flair) {Me & My Brother} Paper Pack #1 (background paper) Crystal's {Sweet Vintage Charm} Elements (tiny buttons) Crystal's {Sweet Vintage Charm} Add-on Elements (owl) journaling font: 1942 report

That's all for today. -xo jenn

New Classes Starting Today.

Two new classes start today at jessicasprague.com - My Awesome Life: Tween Album Class and My Awesome Life: Teen Album Class both on sale for $35.





I plan on doing the Tween one with my daughter. :)

And if you love templates, you will love Crystal Wilkerson's newest template series... "Inspired by...." . She is taking layouts from influential scrapbookers and turning them into templates. Here is one that I played with over the weekend:

These new "Inspired by ... Templates" by Crystal are divine!

{Creativity by Crystal}
Inspired by Susan Weinroth Template 3
October '09 {Sweet} Paper Collection
Crystal's {Sweet Vintage Charm} Add-on Elements little green heart
November 2009 Paper Collection
November Collection "Eye Candy" Elements Pack for star element and staples
Crystal's {Sweet Vintage Charm} Elements for the stitches and scallop edge border
{The Room Collection} Element Pack for the Woodgrain Scallop Borders
Sweet Summertime Basic Papers - background paper

Fonts: Killed DJ, Desyrel, Cooper Std., American Typewriter

A bunch of new pages... and back to school for you!

I have a bunch of new pages to share with you today. When I look through my photos of my son, I see snap shot after snap shot of him with some random bug or critter he has found. I need to do a collage page highlighting all his finds. Another day, I suppose. For now I choose one recent moment, where he scooped up a praying mantis and let it crawl all over him until releasing it back outside.

Creatures of Nature

{Creativity by Crystal}
Me & My Brother Paper Packs 1 & 2 {coming soon!}
Playground Elements Add-On Pack -red heart epoxy
Playground Papers -red dots

{Jessica Sprague}
Template + v.3

{splendid fiins}
@ the office paper pack add-on 2 -graph paper & blue circle paper

{queen of quirk}
Father Time Element Pack - Butterflies

{katie pertiet}
Let Your Light Shine Template - jewelry tags
Tied Fasteners No 3

{lynn grieveson}
Wild Weekend Alpha (title)

fonts: Steelfish (title), Centry Gothic (journaling)

This one is just a moment from last month, after the kids caught the ice cream truck going by our home.

Celebrate Summer {iKari Designs}
Save the Date Vol. 5: Curvy Labels
Glitter Spills

{Creativity by Crystal}
Me & My Brother Paper Pack #1 {coming soon!} background paper
Artisan Label Templates No. 1

{liv.e designs}
Summerific Labels - recolored
Softly, Gently - The Kit Elements - green string and tag
Not Quite White Paper Pack

{Queen of Quirk}
Fathertime Paper Pack
Collab with Paislee Press - You are Here Full Kit - red floral, blue flroal, red border, bow

{katie pertiet}
scatterings no.4

{anna aspnes}
curvy corners stitched borders -recolored

{lynn grieveson}
wprn page edges no. 4

And a hybrid project using Elle's Studio Birthday Bags & Birthday Banners ... decided these would be cute as little treat bags for the lunch box for the 1st day of school when it arrives. I also printed out a little label and wrote a love note for my kids. :)

Lunch Box Treat Bags
{Elle's Studio}
Birthday Bags - Boy Hybrid Project
Birthday Banner - Boy Hybrid Project
In the Moment Journaling {coming soon!}
Banner Letters Brown - Hybrid Project {coming soon!}

{Creativity by Crystal}
For 12x12 Layout:
Playground Element Pack -heart
Playground Element Add-On Pack - happy face epoxy
Doodley-Doo Borders

Fonts: Stamped Act, Hanoded Hand

American Crafts felt hearts, Martha Stewart's Twine

And if you are looking to get your self back to school with some fun classes this fall, check out JessicaSprague.com.
Classes starting soon include:

Now We're Rockin' in Photoshop Intermed. Digital Scrapbooking

all new updated class, register today, starts Aug 30

ABC Inspiration by Carina Gardner - register today, class starts Aug 13 $35.00

Oh Shoot! Beginning Digital SLR Photography

register tonight at 9pm EST!

Crystal Wilkerson will soon be teaching a new Blog Design Basics for Bloggers class! More Details coming soon!

That's it for now. -xo