Hi everyone! It’s Lu here  with this week’s Product Spotlight, Studio Chic (on sale for $4.25 this week only – and keep in mind that SP plans to retire this kit next year). This is a kit that I’ve always really liked, for a number of reasons. I love kits with black (Clementine is my fav)… it just makes everything “pop” and provides so much drama. But mainly I love the “theme” of the kit… creativity! 

With word art such as “imagine”, “unique” & “create”… it certainly puts you in the mood to do just that! It also has lots of great border/corner accents and one of my favorite types of fastener. There are really so many fun embellishments in the kit, as well as bright color,  you are sure to be inspired. Here’s a little sampling from the Shabby Artists, to show you what I’m talking about:

from  Kylie:

from SP:

from Mariquita:

from Trish:

and here’s a layout I created:

We also have some hybrid fun…

from Denise:

Now, as this kit is about creativity, it gave me the idea of how to organize some of my “art collection”. Like many moms, I struggle with what to do with my little picasso’s art work. Obviously, I can’t keep it all (although I tried for awhile), lol! Finally, it just  overwhelmed me and I started placing it in a spare box. When I chose this kit to spotlight, the wheels started turning.  I felt so much better (and organized) with my little cherub’s masterpieces tucked away in an bright & cheery storage box.

Studio Chic is all about creating… and that’s just what we hope we’ve inspired you to do! Looking forward to seeing those “masterpieces” in the gallery! Don’t miss tomorrow’s post with Beckie, it is sure to be a creative treat!

LuProduct Spotlight, Uncategorized 5 Comments

Hey everyone! It’s Lu today & I’m back to give you a little color inspiration. According  to the calendar, we’re winding down summer & headed towards early fall (not in my neck of the woods, however). Still, if you’ve been to the malls~ and who hasn’t, with school starting~ you’ve certainly noticed the fall attire. As with almost everything, the first thing I typically notice is… you guessed it, color! My goodness, the fashions these days take me back to my school daze … all the 80′s styles & neon color, not really as inspiring as they were when I was younger, lol! But one color that always grabs my attention, and thankfully one that never goes out of style (for me, anyway) is RED. And with a username “reddoor”, that is probably no surprise. There is a lot of symbolism associated with the color red, from power to prosperity, to love or anger. Basically, red conjures up strong feelings… and perhaps strong reactions: either an intense like or dislike for it. But regardless, red packs a punch & makes an impact. Whether or not it’s a favorite color, it is certainly one that most can identify with, at least on occasion. Specifically, we typically think of red for Valentine’s Day, the Fourth of July and Christmas. I also usually associate it with school: red plaids, a red apple for the teacher. So when I came across this fabric swatch, it just said “fall” to me & I knew this would be my next inspiration.

 On various online shopping excursions, I’ve spied lots of my favorite color (okay, one of my favorite colors. I can’t really commit to just one. Moving on…). Here are a few of the items that have caught my eye.

As much I love red, I was really intriqued by that fabric swatch & wanted to create a color palette based on this combo. I  love how the cool, sky blue tones down the heat of the red. The vibrant yellow brightens the palette & keeps it from becoming “muddy”. The sage green provides a bit of calm and the dark brown grounds it all. Although quite vivid, it is very much a “natural” palette (earth, wind & fire).

With my color scheme established, this is the layout I created.  In order to keep it balanced, I tried to assign about the same “ratios” of colors as my theme swatch. Although I am focusing on red, it can quickly overpower the other colors.

 And here is my credit list:

Brown  & Blue paper~ Believe

Red Damask paper, red stitches, red heart tag~ Sweetie Pie

Green paper~ Damask & Dots

White paper~ Hopscotch

Green & yellow flowers, yellow buttons, string with green buttons, red heart stitch, yellow scroll (recolored)~ Clementine 

If you’re interested in reading more about the symbolism of the color red, I found this article to have some interesting tidbits. There are oodles more, of course. I hope that this has post has you inspiRED & seeing red, lol! Don’t miss tomorrow’s post with Kathy, as she rolls out the “red carpet” for this week’s product spotlight. Okay, I’ll stop now.  Have a wonderful week & happy scrappin!

LuBeauty & Fashion, Inspiration, Uncategorized 9 Comments

Hey ya’ll, it’s Lu… and I’m back today with a fun little hybird project using Modish Girl, this week’s product in the spotlight. As I was strolling the aisles of a craft store (one of my favorite activities) a few months ago, I wandered into the chipboard section. There on the shelf sat this little unadorned “purse”, lonely & begging for some attention! I just had to rescue her & take her home. When I selected Modish Girl to spotlight, my mind just spun with all the “girly” ideas… and when I saw that naked little purse, I knew just what finery in which to clothe her.

The first thing that I did was consider the purse’s design… On the front, it had an opening slot to slide in a photo. I wasn’t planning on using this purse for photos, so I decided that I would cover this by creating  a “pocket” on top to add some dimension. I scanned the front & the back of the purse, then opened the files in my photo-editing program (I use PSE). I  extracted the shapes of the purse in order to create  clipping masks.  Once I had my basic shapes, I measured the purse vertically, as well as horizontally (both top & bottom) & sized my purse shape to those dimensions. I also added a 1″ strip on the top & bottom of the purse shape to wrap onto the top & bottom of the purse. It’s not necessary, just a matter of personal preference. To create the pocket shape, I just duplicated the purse shape & then downsized to a measurement that I felt would cover that oval cut-out. (Important note: I did not want to just paper over that empty oval, so I cut out a piece of paper & slid it into the photo slot, just as you would a photo. Then I traced around the opening onto the paper. I pulled out the paper, cut out the oval & used it as a pattern to cut out a piece of chipboard. I was careful to mark “top, bottom, left & right” on the pattern so that when I cut out the chipboard oval, it would be a perfect fit to the opening. Then I just glued this piece in). I also measured the sides of the purse to create paper strips, and used contrasting paper for those. Here’s a screen shot of the purse shape & side panels:

Once I had those shapes, it was smooth sailing. I layered on the papers & embellishments,  copied my master psd file, flattened it, save & printed. Then I turned my attention back to the purse itself by removing the clasp & handle and applying a light pink base coat pink. (I wasn’t overly concerned about this phase, as I knew I’d be covering the majority of the purse with paper). But I did want a little something “extra” rather than just chipboard edges, because this would be a more feminine project.  I also considered that it might be a good idea to spray the interior of the purse with some sort of sealant prior to adhering the paper on the exterior. I’m sure it could use that extra protection, otherwise the paint might easily scratch. (I didn’t do it this time, but I’m sure I’ll do this the next time). As I waited for the paint to dry, I start cutting out my paper shapes. I also cut out (2) pocket shapes out of chipboard… one I used for the actual pocket, the other I used as an additional chipboard layer glued to the pocket to create depth. You could stack a couple of these together for extra depth, and perhaps slip a little card in that pocket. Just remember to “notch out” a square shape, as you’ll see in the photo below.

 Then it was time to paste on the papers with the Mod Podge. After the purse & pocket dried (with my additional chipboard layer applied on back of the pocket), I sanded off all the sides to give it that nice shabby look. This is a perfect time to ink the edges, if you choose to do so. I decided against it on this project, so I moved onto applying a final sealant coat of Mod Podge.   When that coat dried, I wrapped on the black polka dot ribbon & glued the pocket onto the purse.

Earlier (while all the Mod Podge was drying), I had stepped outside to give those little brass closures a quick shot of spray paint. I went with white, to stay consistent with the color scheme.  The final steps were to screw the clasp back on, afix the button to the ribbon bow on the pocket, and stick the handle back in. And that’s it! All that was left was to fill with my little goodies. For this gift, I’m planning on turning it into a little manicure/pedicure set, complete with pretty pink polish.

 Wouldn’t this make an adorable bridesmaid gift? Or how about a favor idea for a little princess tea party? So many different & special applications with this little jewel. And with two little girlies, I’m sure I will be doing this project again & again. Well, that’s it for now, but I sure hope I’ve provided you with some inspiration on using Modish Girl. It is truly a girly yet “funky” kit (as Beckie said once)… and I just love that combination!

LuHybrid Projects, Inspiration, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Hello everyone, it’s Lu here with this week’s Product Spotlight… Modish Girl (on sale for $5.21 this week only)!  This is a kit that I know you’ll enjoy playing with… if you haven’t already!

Personally, I just love paisleys & this kit is loaded with them. But as always, what I really enjoy is the color palette. It’s so “girly” but with a fun twist… and all about shabby style. Let me show you what I mean:

Here’s my layout:

and some more from the girls (visit the Shabby Artist’s gallery for larger images and credits):

Now, after all those sweet layouts,  you may be thinking, “Love the kit, but just a little too “girly” for all my “boy” pics.  So I just wanted to show you a layout that I created using Modish Girl and Hopscotch.

I chose Hopscotch to pull elements from because the color scheme worked with the photos background. I also recolored the floral sticker from Modish Girl to coordinate with the flowers. Just to show you that even the most “girly” kits can be neutralized, lol! I could’ve made this layout even more “boyish” if I had wanted to… but it is going into my daughter’s album, so I  kept it a bit feminine. She’s still a girly-girl, even if she’s a HUGE Star Wars fan, lol! In any event, if you’re looking for a kit to showcase your mod, chic, sweet, silly girl then take a look at Modish Girl. It’s on sale this week only for $5.21. Don’t miss the sale on this great kit!

Be sure to look for my hybrid project on Friday with more on Modish Girl.  But first, you will not want to miss Karen’s FABULOUS tips & tricks post, coming up tomorrow!  Until then, Happy Scrappin’!

LuProduct Spotlight, Uncategorized 6 Comments

Hey everyone, it’s Lu today to announce the Layout of the Week! As always, this brings about mixed emotions… I’m always excited to get to pick, but then slightly overwhelmed at making the selection! But having “too many” wonderful options is a good problem to have, lol! This layout caught my attention early on during the week, and honestly… how could it not? I’m a big fan of sepia tones, so the large photo dazzled me right away. It was the precious photo that was so mesmerizing at first, but there are lots of wonderful details that create an overall dramatic effect of the layout. In fact, it’s almost a layout within a layout! I love this technique, of using a photo for the background & then layering up.  It also features a beautiful blend job & and incorporates the title,  Innocence  just perfectly within the journaling.

From the very talented Jenelle:

 I’ve admired Jenelle’s gallery before, and so I am especially happy to be able to select this very special layout this week. Congratulations Jenelle (you have received a $10 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe, via email)… & thanks so much for sharing those wonderful memories with us!

Have a great weekend :o)  We’ll see ya back here on Monday!

LuLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 5 Comments