What Inspires Me?

Like Anita said, what doesn't?

When I walk into Paper Pals, it's like walking into some kind of creative sanctuary where I feel completely comfortable among my "own kind". Each time I visit, I have a little path that I walk that allows me to see everything, and as I browse I love to listen to the questions and conversations of other shoppers as they talk to Karen and Shawna about their projects. In addition to traditional scrapbooking, I like to create altered projects, so I love all of the wonderful base items that Paper Pals stocks, like clocks and frames and albums. Oh, and the Tim Holtz products. And the Hero Arts stamps. And did I mention I am in love with Bazzill cardstock? And why does it smell so good in there?

What inspires me at Paper Pals?

What doesn't?

First, as Karen and Shawna know, I relish being able to stop into the store on Friday afternoons while I'm waiting for our family's pizzas at Papa Murphys...this "stop in" is the perfect attitude adjustment after a long week at work.

Second, I love the light and the color(the sage walls) at Paper Pals. It is a bright, sunny place.

Third, I love that Karen and Shawna always find and stock the "latest and greatest" in the paper crafting industry!

I could keep going...but what about you?

Inspiring Visit

What inspires me about Paper Pals is the layouts, paper and stickers. I usually have my daughter with me so I don't get to look as much as I would like. I love their use of antique furniture in the store. It makes it feel so homey. I too love the music. They are always playing something good. I don't know how they create that smell but the first pack of goodies that I got to take home and create with smelled so good, and continued to smell good days after I had it home. I always leave with a strong desire to go home and scrap. I also leave wishing I could buy practically everything in the store. Then were would I put it? They really do a great job and I am sure it is a ton of work.

What Inspires You?

Okay gals, a simple question for you, just to get our creative juices flowing.

What is it about Paper Pals that inspires you? When you get to the store, what gets you feeling creative?

For me: it's the experience. I walk in the door and smell the smell that is so distinctly Paper Pals (is it paper goods? air freshener? fumes from ink/glue???), listen to the music (much of it is similar to my favorites on my playlists) and I just browse. Look look look.

I always leave feeling refreshed and inspired to create.

How about you?

My Family

I managed to get two more pages from my scraps from the Early Bird line from Cosmo Cricket. The top page is pretty basic with just strips of pattern paper and some pears I cut out from one of the border scraps. The family tree page is one I have been wanting to do ever since I got the Cricut Stretch your imagination cartridge. I had to add some of my own scraps to make the tree bushy enough but most of it is from the Early Bird line. When I saw the green patterned paper with the lines on it I knew it would be perfect for the tree. It was perfect for the pictures of my daughter and her brothers.

First Food Part Two

I usually scrap book two page layouts. So after finishing my page with the Early Bird line from Cosmo Cricket I went into the store and got some more paper so I could finish the other side of my layout. I had enough scraps left over to add to my second page. I have a cute knife, fork and spoon punch that I used to make my border on the bottom of the page. I covered some punched out circles with clear circle bubbles to look like plates. I punched a circle out of the corner of one of the pictures that had a lot of space in it so I could place a bit of a circle with a toaster that I had cut out of some of my scraps. I have enjoyed working with this line and I am in the process of working on another layout with my left over scraps.

new from SEI - Winter Song line

There seems to be only a handful of companies that contribute to the papercrafts industry that have real "staying power". SEI is one of them! (I've been loving and using SEI for 8-9 years now). The new SEI Winter Song line is no exception to how this company and their talented designers keep coming up with new, gorgeous lines!

I kept these layouts simple. A printed collage from Picasa, generous use of the Sparkling Frost Die Cut Accents, Glossy Accents and Pixie Stix glitter, Doodlebug glittery letters, some pop dots for dimension, a little bling and you're there!


This gorgeous red snowflake paper is called Starlight and is embossed and glittered in just the right places to provide an excellent, subtlely stunning backdrop for pages or cards (it's never to early to starting thinking of your Christmas card ideas, right?)



The lovely blue Snow Bubbles paper below is really cool and versatile. Each bubble on this side has patterns/prints that tie in with the entire line of paper. The other side, which I didn't use for this project is a dark red and tiny white tulip (yes, tulips!) print. How cool is that?

And finally, some cards. The Sparkling Frost Die Cut Accents and Doodlebug letters came in really handy here! The die cut accents contains so many different pieces, I know you'll be able to create and create and create with them! On the hello card above, I placed the letters on a piece of transparancy and used Glossy Accent and Pixie Dust Glitter on the back side to not only give this card sparkle but dimension!

Enjoy!

P. S. Not only will you want to go to Paper Pals to see all the new lines they have, but you'll want to see these layouts up close. Can you guess what happens when you place your finished pages on top of your car and drive off (at 10 pm in the dark and and have to retrace your "steps" to find them)? Ha!

A girl, a box and her best friend

I created a 8 x 8 page with some of the leftovers from the Early Bird line from Cosmo Cricket. I just love the toaster and toast. It is just too cute.

First Food with Early Bird

I made the cards after finishing with my layout. I just used the scraps and some leftover stickers. It was easier than I thought.

This is my "First Food" page created with the Early Bird line by Cosmo Cricket. I had a lot of fun working with the paper, stickers and borders from the line. It was all so cute I wanted to use every bit of it. I cropped 6 pictures to 3 7/8 x 3 7/8" squares. I embellished with borders and strips of patterned paper. I mounted the utensil sticker on card stock and used pinking scissors for the edges. I was trying to cover a can of Comet behind my daughter so I punched out half a circle from the picture and placed the sticker there. I mounted the stickers on the bottom right side onto card stock then punched a tiny hole in the top. I used a staple to hook the stickers onto the loops of the ribbon. (I had some old beading pliers I used to bend the staples.) The stickers are just hanging from the ribbon loops and not adhered to the paper. The letters were cut out on the Cricut. Fun fun fun.

Earth Love

I think I got off a little easy on my first design challenge with this line from Cosmo Cricket. The color palette was all of those deep fall colors I adore, like brown and gold and green. But they threw in some pink and orange and a little blue too, so it was great for this layout of my daughter.


When I'm trying to combine a lot of patterned papers, I often mat them together in some sort of grid. I feel like in that way they are part of a common "neighborhood". Here I used a 5x7 photo as a general guide for the size of the mat, then calculated, cut and glued my squares, and then matted the whole shebang again. I also used my Fiskars Threading Water punch to make a decorative border to the right side of my journaling. I really love this punch. Of course I had to edge everything in gold paint, because I started using paint dabbers and now I can't stop. I popped on some embellishments from the Earth Love chipboard pack and added some Felt Thickers from American Crafts and ADORNit alphabet stickers by Carolees, and I think it all came together very well.



We took these pictures in Germany and I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them until I saw this line. I do lean toward the "green" side of life, so the "green" theme of Earth Love made it easy for me to tie the pictures in with a bit of my own personal earth philosophy. Then I dirtied up all my edges with walnut distress ink by Ranger Industries, which is another product of which I am quite fond. More cute embellishments were added and I was very pleased that they actually adhered super well to the paper (go Cosmo Cricket!!).



Then I still had tons of Earth Love chipboard and border strips left, so I made these cards. The chipboard pack in this line is a really good value, and I could see using them to make short work of a lot of cards.

By the way, I am delighted to also be a new member of the Paper Pals Design Team. I'm looking forward to sharing my art and I hope you'll link us up in the comments section so we can see what you've been creating.

Hello from Leah!

My name is Leah and I am new to the Paper Pals Design Team. It was a bit of a surprise to be asked to be a Design Team member. I love scrap booking. I either scrap book or think about scrap booking on a daily basis. My friend, Tanya, got me started in 1999. Back then it was mostly 8 1/2 x 11" paper and stickers. So I was very honored for the opportunity to be on the team. I have just started my first kit. I get to work with the Early Bird line from Cosmo Cricket. The paper, borders and stickers are so kitcheny cute. The possibilities are overwhelming right now. You could do so many pages with the kit I got. Thank you Shawna and Karen. I am very excited.

Pass the Jillibean Soup!

The Jillibean Soup "Minestrone" line is DEEEEE-licious!

I had a lot of fun creating some layouts with this paper... it's so versatile! Autumn themed photos work great, but you could also use springtime pictures too.

My "Fly" layout is hybrid. I used Photoshop Elements to add a "vellum" spot on my larger photo where I could journal. I also created a smaller photo strip at the top in Elements.

For the "Look at Me Now" layout, I created my own template using circle shapes to make the wavy photo strip. I used 3 4x6 photos on this layout.

There is a sheet of coordinating minestrone paper with lots of fun little embellishments-- many of them work well for lunch box notes for kids. You could also creatively use them to feature some journaling on a layout from a mom to a child. I made several note cards that I'll be able to put in my girls' backpacks or lunch bags.

What draws you to this line of papers?

7 Gypsies Board Book!

Fall themed board book - made by Deb! Using lots of goodies from Paper Pals Ephemera packs, buttons, fall papers, Jenni Bowlin Bingo cards and more!!

3 Bugs in a Rug..Let it Snow

...CHRISTMAS PAPERS ARE IN!! I'm thinking Christmas today even though it s 94 degrees outside!! This new "Let It Snow" collection from 3 Bugs in a Rug is so bright and colorful...you will love it!! I used Bazzill Swiss Dot cardstock to compliment the red and green in the printed papers!! The printed cardstock is double-sided, it's fantastic!! :0) **Hint: I used my 2" Marvy Uchida Punch to punch out the pictures, easy-peesy!!