Occasionally my Michael's updates get sent to my junk email - irritating as all get out, since I've added them to my whitelist. BUT . . . given the fact that this happens occasionally despite our best technological intentions, I wanted to alert you to the fact that they emailed out fantastic September coupons! So . . . if you haven't gotten yours yet, shoot me an email & I'll fwd you mine.

Ahhhh . . . a 50% off coupon for this weekend . . . what shall I get? Perhaps a new album? Some Tim Holtz something or other? Perhaps a border punch? Mmmmm . . . so many choices, so little money!

 

This is the sketch I did for this week's sketch challenge over at The (Paper) Trail Challenge Blog . I had so much fun with this layout! I did a wedding album as a gift for this couple (an 8 x 8 album - you can see the cover over at my gallery on Club Creating Keepsakes - and it was so much fun to do a layout of them for my own album. I loved the old-fashioned look of their wedding - especially Jessica's hat and veil. And these pics are so cool! Anyway - on to the layout!

The Basic Grey Capella papers were perfect for this layout! I started out by using a Capella paper for my base, then tore 2 sides of another Capella paper to create a smaller base. I used the corner rounder on that piece, and inked the paper with Ranger Distress Ink in antique linen. I sewed a line (tight zig-zag) along the bottom of that page and then stapled some fun fringy ribbon above it. I layered another piece of Capella paper - this one I burned along the left end (which turned out a little odd - very triangle-y) then distressed the other end with water and curled it up abit. I used a leftover piece of Provocraft scrap pad paper to frame the pictures. Before I added the photos, I spritzed the whole layout with gold glimmer mist. The N (for Noonan - the young couple's last name) is from the Capella collection, as are the two buttons on the flower accents. The pearl accents on the flowers are by Kaisercraft.The flowers were cut with the Cricut, using scrap papers. I love the dimension and texture of this page - it feels very rich and old, which Ithink works well with the photos.

Oh - I included a closeup of the journaling and flower accents (by the way- I love the way the flourish flower looks in person - I used dimensional glossy glue on the swirls to give it a little extra sparkle).

I stopped at Michael's on my way home Thursday night because I had a 40% off coupon. I went hoping that I might possibly find a pink ATG gun. I've been drooling over them for a while now. Debated on ordering one. Just couldn't bring myself to do it. Well, there was only one left on the rack . . . so it came home with me! I'm so excited! I'm already planning to bling it up. Not sure what I want to do yet. I browsed blogs and galleries a bit, looking for ideas. Here are some that I really like:

Tinkerbell

Toned down pink

Lovely altered ATG (nice video, too)

Pink and Blue Bling (again - very nice video)

But I think this is my favorite - very girly!

I also want to alter my Cricut. But that's another post.

Have a good day!

Lori

As soon as I saw this paper from The Paper Trail store,I knew I wanted to do a layout highlighting sand and sea! Since this week's challenge is shapes, I decided to incorporate a design element that I learned at a recent photography class - the use of lines. Notice that two points of the star point to the lighthouse. I also made a point(no pun intended!) of choosing photographs that were composed using leading lines - the pier on the bottom picture and the boardwalk on the top). Since these two pictures show the lighthouse from a distance, I used round "page pebbles" to highlight them. The two lighthouses and the star create a triangle (a design trick that's used by photographers and scrapbookers!). The My Mind's Eye journaling block echos the shape of the frame around the highlighted photo(another tip - if you use echoing shapes, balance them so that they complement each other). Circle tags (Life's a Beach Cricut cartridge)attached to a playful ribbon with brads provides a balance to the wavy border at the bottom of the page - I love the way the circles at the top echo the scallops at the bottom - sort of a positive/negative image.And I like the way the bottom border mimics waves. A Fancy Pants button is sewn to the journaling block, and a Jenni Bowlin ticket showing the date is stuck under the button. The rub-on title is by Making Memories.

Thanks for looking - and feel free to post a link to your own shape-inspired layout!

We went on vacation last week and I approached the photography a bit differently this time. Usually, I snap pictures like crazy, worried that I will miss something. This time - thanks to a beginners photography class with Ed Morris - I took the time to set my camera and thought about the composition of the photos before I snapped the shot. Of course, some pictures were just for fun - I was more worried about the content than the composition. But others I took with specific scrapbook pages in mind or with the intention to have them blown up.

If you're going on vacation, here are my tips to end up with good photos to scrap (in no particular order):

1. Consider the layouts you want to do and take pictures accordingly. Sounds simple, I know, but in reality - how often do you do that? For instance, we stopped at Lincoln's tomb in Springfield, Illinois and I knew I wanted to scrap a page about rubbing his nose for luck, so I took a profile pic of the statue and a pic of my daughter rubbing his nose, then had someone taking a pic of me rubbing his nose. Three pictures were all I needed.

2. Be aware of tunnel vision. When you take your pics, take a moment to look at the background, too. Nothing ruins a cool beach shot like a 300 pound man in a speedo behind your adorable kids.

3. Consider the timing. Lighting is one of the most important aspects of photography. Don't take photos at high noon if your only shots are going to have your subjects squinting at you. A good time to take photos is in the morning or late afternoon. I recently got some great sunset shots of Lake Michigan, using the "sunset" setting on my Fujifilm P&S camera.

4. Think about your subject. Plan ahead. You may have an idea in your mind of what you want your shot to look like. Think about the shot, then choose the location to photograph. Great photos do sometimes happen, but sometimes great photos require planning. Don't tell my family this - but I purposefully chose a vacation location on the east side of Lake Michigan so I could get cool sunset shots of the sun sinking into the water.

5. Keep a travel journal . There are things that you will forget, no matter how memorable you think they are at the time. Pick a small notebook that you can carry with you and jot notes in it. Remember to keep track of the bad stuff and the good stuff. If you didn't get a picture of something that you KNOW you want to scrapbook, make a note of why you didn't get the shot. Maybe even take a photo of something related. You can scrap that - I've done entire layouts without photos on them. The journal will help you keep track of dates and locations, too. Simple concept, but one that I didn't follow until recently.

6. Take a simple photography course. I took a class with Ed Morris (check out his website here ) and was blown away by how much better my photos were.

7. Play with your camera. Take the time to read the manual. Check out the settings. See what your camera can do. Once I started playing with mine (thanks to Ed's tips), I discovered all sorts of things that mine did that I had no idea it was capable of!

OK, now go out there and take some photographs!

As you may recall from a recent blog post, I was selected as a member of the Design Team for the Paper Trail Makers Challenge Blog

There are some great prizes from the Paper Trail Store , including Fancy Pants Rusted Sun papers (too cool!), Bazzill cardstock (a staple if there ever was one!), Stickles and Smooch Spritz ink. (woo-hoo!!!) and this week things are heating up over on that blog. The designers are being introduced today (check out my introduction today), and Karen has announced that she is kicking off the blog with a heck of a contest. And this is so easy to win - all you have to do is send your friends to the blog! Every time a friend of yours goes there and leaves a comment with their name and yours (as the one who recommended the blog) - you'll both get your names in the hat for the prize! And the more people who follow, the more prizes are given!

So . . . shoot on over there and comment that Lori Robinett sent you!

(right now. Go ahead. I'll wait.)

Thanks! I really appreciate it!

Have a good day!

I went to a crop over the weekend and a topic of discussion was the "next big thing" from ProvoCraft. If you follow blogs at all, you probably know by now that it appears to be the Cricut Imagine, which appears to be something that prints and cuts. Supposedly there are tickets in cartridges - similar to the other PC promotions that we've seen in the past. We haven't even seen a demonstration of this new machine, but the buzz is there. The excitement is there. The anticipation is there.

But will it deliver? I don't tend to buy something as soon as it comes out, because I generally have to save up for an item and I am always cautious about getting something that may still have bugs. I fully expect the Imagine to have bugs (no pun intended), but the idea is intriguing. If this thing is for real, here is my wish list:

1. I want an all-in-one unit so that I can get rid of my printer and get rid of my Cricut (or at least leave it packed so that I can take it to crops). I want it to print, scan, copy, and cut.

2. I want the printer to be wide format. I'm dying to get into digital scrapbooking, but the need for a 12" printer has held me back.

3. I want the cartridges I have and the Gypsy I adore to be compatible with it.

4. I want it to be expandable. I am so tired of a disposable society where we buy new printers instead of an ink cartridge, where DVD players are tossed because BluRay is the next big thing. Think of this as a long term purchase and I'll be willing to spend more for it.

So, there's my wish list. Now, if I could just find someone to deliver one of these cool new machines to my stocking in time for Christmas . . .

I am so excited! The announcement was made today . . . I was selected to serve as a Design Team member for the (Paper) Trail Makers Challenge Blog! (also take the time to check out the Paper Trail store - great site!) Six members were selected for a six month term. As some of you know, I've been scrapbooking for over a decade, and enjoy cropping and scrapping in my spare time. Over the past few months, it occurred to me that I could - and should - combine my two passions (writing and scrapbooking), so I began to investigate ways to build my scrappy resume. Becoming a Design Team member became a goal. When I read the call for this particular team, I knew it was a perfect fit for me, for leaving a paper trail of my life (and my family) is exactly why I scrapbook. So, I worked to complete the challenges and submitted my layouts . . . and then wondered why I had tried. Then, I got the offer! Yea!!!

I am really looking forward to the opportunity to work with such talented individuals, and to exploring and developing my own talents. I hope you'll take the time to check out the blog - Karen does a great job, and all the Design Team members are extremely talented.

By the way, I celebrated last night - popped a bottle of wine and sat down to browse the most recent catalog from Creative Memories. More on that in another post.

And another note: here's a card I put together tonight. The handwriting was a bit of a challenge to myself - I don't like my own writing, but I am attempting to use more of it in my creations.