Grace's Scrap Attic has a new look!

Good Monday morning everyone! I have been working on a new look around here at my scrap attic. Do you like it? I have lots of artists to credit to all the different elements in this design. I will grab them later today. Right now I need sleep . LOL. I have been up designing and tweaking this new look.

Can you all do me a favor and let me know if you only see the title "Grace's Scrap Attic" or the title "Grace's Scrap Attic, Thank you for sharing my journey though life. Look closely... you might find a treasure or two." I had some issues with the Header tonight. That would be a huge help. It has to do with your browser... please also let me know what browser you are using. Thanks again!

Hope your Monday is full of scrappy goodness.

Sugar & Spice and some things nice...

Welcome to the Attic once again. Thanks so much for joining me!

Ok so now lets scrap talk. This layout was the third one I did for the I Am a Scrapaholic Kit Club. For the supplies please see the post below. This was one of my favorite moments of my daughter being so sweet... she wanted to bake cookies... so she snuck into the kitchen for no more then 10 min before I went looking for her and ... yup here ya go. She is baking NAKED! Notice the full body shots are missing. Hehe. She decided apple sauce, sugar and flour would make great cookies though she only got the sugar opened by the time I found her.


Background: Kraft cardstock with the flower sack paper. I cut out the logo and off centered it to the upper right of the page. I added a top and bottom boarders of red cardstock. I also cut the boarder from the flour printed paper and fancy cut it with my exacto knife. I then inked the edges of the read boarder and the logo.

Photo Mats: The main photo I mated with the same red as the top and bottom boarders. I inked the edges brown and then added some crocheted ribbon between the photo and mat.

Embellishments: are cardstock buttons and flowers.

Pretty simple layout but I really love the look and feel of it... not to mention I get a really good laugh looking at these photos and remembering that moment.

Today I have some news. I got to dabble in the digital arts a lot these past few weeks and I can share just a bit with you before the new reveal of it all on Saturday. You see Scrapbook News and Review is getting a makeover and with that makeover came the need for a new logo and other graphics... I got to play play play!... This is the only one I can show you now and I hope you come check out the new Issue and the sites new look this weekend.

I hope your day is good and your week is wonderful.

Trinity - You are my sunshine...

What a crazy life I lead. I have to tell you all that you have my apologies for not keeping you posted on my creative journey as I have said I would. Life is pretty crazy around here. First off it is summer and the kids are home with me from school, we are house hunting, I have been working my little booty off for Scrapbook News and Review, teaching myself PSE7 (thank God for Youtube tutorials) and taking photo editing classes. I have been creating a lot for them but I like to post my creations after they are published so that takes a good 45-60 days before I can show you all.

Here is one of those that was published in the May issue. I really love this layout. I have to admit that it was for a kit club review and I truly disliked that orange floral patterned paper. However this just goes to show you that with a well coordinated kit club, the right photo and accessories you can make anything look good. I love this now!

The scrapbooking kit was part of a new article series we are doing over at Scrapbook News and Review. I love this idea. We get to review different kit clubs and let you see all the wonderful things about them. "I Am a Scrapaholic" was the kit club I had the honor to review. I have to say really loved the kit and all the goodies that came with it.

This is a picture of my darling daughter Trinity. It was taken this spring when we were attempting to get our family photos done. I snapped this one of her at the top of a slide. Though she had just started her way down it and moved out of the shot before my camera and it's slow shutter speed could snap the picture. The cropping is how I took it and the golden glow is from the yellow slide she was at the top of. I hated this pic on the screen of my camera but for what ever reason I did not delete it at that time. Once I got it up on my computer screen I saw it's true beauty and fell in love with this shot.

Lets get down to the nitty gritty shall we?

Background: I started off with the orange floral paper and layered on top of it with a blue cardstock then a white cardstock. This was a nice compliment to the blue leaves in the back ground paper. Using a edge punch from Martha Stewart I edged the white cardstock and added little red dots with my maker in every other small scallop. Adding little fancy cut cherries from scraps of another patterned paper from Jenni Bowlin (I think, see the list below from the kit contents) in the corners.

Next I used a Tim Holtz mask and some yellow, orange and red inks to create the anchor line of the layout and the background for the title. Gently blending these inks over the mask.

Paper mats and layers: Then layering a square block of a larger cherry pattern paper, the pendent shape red cardstock boarder and the orange butterfly ribbon (which I was not very fond of either) to create the completed anchor line. This gave it extreme visual texture and colors to counter the starkness from the white cardstock background. Having this anchor line to rest the photo on was key. After placing the photo in the correct place I chose to create more interest in the upper right section of the layout.

TIP- I never adhere any thing together until I am done layout out my page because of what I did here. Instead of cutting into a new piece of cardstock and paper... I took the background paper and the blue background cardstock and cut out these circles behind the upper right corner of the photo. I cut the blue with a scalloped edge scissors, HAHA yes those decorative scissors from the 90's... I still have them and use them frequently. I then added a doodle dot inside each scallop this time. I inked the edge of the pattern paper circle and layered them together. Yet it still did not seem like enough. I added in some long red stitches with DMC floss. I then took my gold pen and doodled a little circle at the hole where the floss enters the white cardstock... looks like a mini eyelet.

I mounted my photo onto a red piece of cardstock.

Journaling: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear how much I love you. " This was all done on a journal box (something I don't use very often) from Jenni Bowlin.

Embellishments: The butterflies are die cuts that the kit club provided. They were fun to use and added movement and splashes of color to the page. The flowers were also included and I have never really found a use for white flowers but I really love how they turned out. I also like the centers that are from Jenni Bowlin again... hehe.

This I am a Scrapaholic kit products include:

6 sheets of 12x12 Jenni Bowlin Farmers Wife Collection:

4 Sheets Bazzill Cardstock: [2 each] Red Devil, Navy

American Crafts Black Rainboot Thickers

Jenni Bowlin Milk Cap Chipboard Buttons

Jenni Bowlin Maraschino Pearl Flowers

Jenni Bowlin Red Labels

Bazzill Kisses Just the Edges

Prima Marketing Taffy Daisy Dreams

Prima Marketing Wildflowers

Jenni Bowlin Blueberry Pearl Flowers

Maya Road Brown & Cream Sheer Journaling Tags

Prima Marketing Embroidered Canvas Tags

Maya Road Brown & Cream Sheer Journaling Tags

Making Memories Butterfly Twill Ribbon

I have to admit I sat there looking at all my scraps from the other two layouts (one seen to the left, you can read more about it by clicking on the picture to get to the post about this layout, and another layout to be posted soon) I did with this kit and was asking myself what to do with these... umm... well ugly papers and embellishments. The first two layouts I used everything I liked from the kit. The photo was the key and this truly is a sign of a great kit club. The I am a Scrapaholic club knows what they are doing if they can put together kits that are so well coordinated that even when people think their choices are not the prettiest they can still create with them and make something very beautiful. I have to say this is my favorite layout from these three and has been for some time. One I am definitely very proud of.

Thanks so much for sharing my creative journey once again. My questions for you are...

Have you ever used a paper you really don't like? If so was it for a challenge or from a kit club or just leftovers? Why did you use it and did you like the results?

Let the games, challenges and classes begin!

Let the games, challenges and classes begin! Over at SNR our Spring into Summer Event is underway. Come on over and join us. My class will begin at 5 pm EST Come join me for this all day event. I will be hanging out over at Scrapbook News and Review.

New cover to SNR Mag and Spread the word Contest continues through tonight

I am always excited when I get to do something creative and though this is not about one of my scrapbook pages, I must share the excitement. This is Scrapbook News and Review's new magazine cover... and guess who designed it... go ahead guess. ME! Sorry, I just love showing off my work. This was created in word but thanks to a dear friend I know have to learn Photoshop Elements 7 and I will be able to make this even better next month. Do you like it?
The Art work is by: Delaina Burns and the Sketch by: Debbie Gaydos. Thank you both for great pieces of your creativity to inspire mine.

Now on to a little something I am going to be giving away. If you were fallowing much this weekend then you know I was part of an enormous blog hop. Anne House organized the Oh Say can you see blog hop sponsored by Scrapbook News and Review Card Universe. There were over 90 blogs participating and it was a HUGE success!

My blog freebie is still up for grabs tough through tonight if you leave me a comment on the post below, by tonight at 10 pm CST, that you have taken this graphic and spread the word to your friends about a very exciting event hosted by Scrapbook News and Review. It is part of the SNR Summer Event Series. SNR's Spring into Summer Event is this Saturday July 11th. Come join us, there will be eight classes taught by our staff members and I am one of them. So help me spread the word. You will get a chance to win one month free subscription to Scrapbook News and Review.

Thanks for taking the time once again to read about my creative journey... pst... do you think I should go Digi??? Come on you know I am itching to try digital scrapbooking... hehe. Na! I love my traditional style. Though I cant promise I won't dabble in it. Have a great Monday!