Hola, peeps!! Feel like going on another virtual shopping trip with me? :)

I've explained before about the wonder that is Stop and Scrap and their awesome system of preorders. While I usually have to wait a couple of months post-CHA to get most of my goodies, I had one order in particular that was over the amount needed for free shipping all on its own, so they were kind enough to send it to me along with a few other preorders that were already in stock.

What did I buy that made the order so expensive (though I did cut that back a lot by using some of my rewards points)? It was all the yummy brads and paper from My Mind's Eye's new Lost and Found 2 collection!!

Lost and Found 2 has no fewer than eight luscious sets of brads, and I loved them so much that I ordered them all!! I've been using the sets from their Stella and Rose collection like crazy, and I expect that this new batch will get just as much use.

I also ordered both sets of their Christmas brads...

...and the Halloween ones, as well!!

A couple of the clear stamp sets in the line caught my eye, as well.

And then, of course, there's the paper!! I decided to try an experiment with this line and ordered only a 2-3 full size sheets of each set (since these are double-sided it still gives me a good mix of patterns) along with the collection's 6x6 pads. Since I tend to scrap with only a couple of strips going across the whole page and a few smaller chunks scattered around, I think this arrangement will work out well. It's also a bit easier to store. :)

Some of My Mind's Eye's Halloween and Christmas papers found their way into my box, as well.

MME wasn't the only company rocking the brads this CHA- Bo Bunny came out with some awesome sets, as well!! I love the filigree work in the Christmas line.

The new Basic Grey papers were also in, so they shipped with this order as well. I love Indie Bloom so much more in person than I did on the screen (and I really liked it on the screen!).

I obviously placed the Basic Grey order before I decided to cut back on the number of full sheets that I buy, but I totally can't complain since the Nordic Holiday collection is sooooo cute and I'm so glad I bought it all!!

And of course I got the 6x6 pack, too!

Just a few other odds and ends in the box- some clearance papers from Studio Calico, American Crafts, and October Afternoon.

And I also ordered some of the new jewels from KaiserCraft. I find that I use these on so many layouts, so I can always use more

Ahhhh, post-CHA shopping bliss!!

simple scrapper layout | party prep

I'm back tonight with another layout to share! This page is based on one of the templates in the August Collection at Simple Scrapper...with just a touch of reinterpretation. I was never very good at following rules, anyway. :)

I wanted to capture a few of the details (like Mom slicing up the watermelon) of all the party preparations for Sophie Clare's first birthday, and these three photos jumped out at me as both perfect for the template and what I wanted to document- I love it when things work out like that!

I try to make all of my design team assignments work for me in that regard- I scrap photos that I would have scrapped anyway, I just happen to do them with whatever set of supplies or format is required for the assignment. That way I never feel like design team work is a chore- it's all about making it work for me as well as my team!

Speaking of design teams, I pulled out my August Counterfeit Kit featuring the super fun, super bright Country Drive collection from Echo Park once again to make this page. That's another way I made my design team work easy this month- I made the kit for the Counterfeit Kit challenge, but also used it for my Simple Scrapper layouts (since I could choose any supplies I wanted for those). And for both sets of assignments I used photos from the same event, so in the end everything worked so well together! With just a little planning this design team thing is a piece of cake- you just have to be organized about it :)

I'm keeping this kit intact for a while since I still have quite the pile of photos from Sophie's birthday that I want to use on layouts. In fact, I keep most all of my kits together (they just make life soooo easy!) and have been revamping my kit storage a bit over the last week or so. Perhaps that should be a topic for a future blog post?

How do you guys store your kits?

giveaway | scrapbook and cards today subscription

A few months ago I wrote an article for Scrapbook Update about the various digital publications that are available for scrapbookers. One of my favorites of the bunch, Scrapbook and Cards Today, contacted me to see if I would be interested in giving away a print (as in a real, tangible, hard copy mailed straight to you!) subscription to their magazine to one of my readers.

My answer was, of course, a resounding yes!! I adore this magazine- the content, layout, and articles are all top-notch, and I often find myself wishing that it was monthly instead of quarterly!

Here's just a bit more about the magazine, straight from the publisher:

Scrapbook & Cards Today is a high-quality, sophisticated publication that celebrates scrapbooking, card making, and other contemporary papercrafts. Scrapbook & Cards Today provides readers with a visually appealing, idea and technique focused publication that showcases all of the “latest and greatest” industry favourites.  Readers can either pick up a complimentary issue at one of our distributing stores or can either download a pdf to their smart phones, tablet or computer or can view it in our onsite e-reader at www.scrapbookandcards.com.  And the best part, it’s free!

You can follow SCT on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ScrapbookAndCardsToday) , twitter (@SCTmagazine) or visit our blog for daily inspiration at http://www.scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com/!

If you'd like a chance to win a print subscription to this awesome magazine, just leave a comment on this post by midnight CST on Saturday, September 3, 2011. I'll use Random.org to select and post a winner on Sunday, September 4th. If I don't hear from the winner within three days of posting, then Random.org and I will just have to pick another one. :)

Good luck, everyone!

scrapbook update | lattices, honeycombs, and hexagons

I've got a new article up over at Scrapbook Update, and it's all about lattice patterns in scrapbooking supplies! My geeky, math-loving brain was thrilled to be able to merge scrapping and geometry along with just the teeniest mention of structural physics. :)

I used the super cool October Afternoon Boarding Pass line to make this layout for the piece, and soooo many more manufacturers and lines are highlighted. Go check it out!

geek girl | august 28, 2011

Woohooo, Doctor Who is back on for the second half of the sixth season!! I downloaded the first episode from iTunes this morning and just finished watching it, and, whoa, is it ever awesome!!

There's also been a TON of great Star Wars geekery posted around the web in the last week, and I've picked some of my favorites to share with you tonight.

From the top left:

• Take a closer look at this adorable Chewbacca needlepoint over at Epbot (along with some super cool DIY jewelry).
• The Trooper is a new Star Wars inspired iPad case, complete with built-in keyboard. I must say that I'm tempted!
• There's lots of R2-D2 in the roundup this week, starting with this ice cube tray shaped like the lovable little robot.
• This totally cool Death Star cake is made even more awesome by the array of Star Wars character cupcakes surrounding it. 
• Zakka life posted lots of photos from the new Legoland in California. The AT-ATs are pictured above, but if you click through to the post you'll see a life-size Chewbacca, as well! That same figure was at Celebration V last year and is really quite impressive!
• Check out this custom made R2-D2 bike helmet!
• And if ice cube trays and helmets aren't enough, how about an R2-D2 planetarium, complete with a Death Star!
• I've said it before, and these handmade TIE fighters are going to make me say it again- I really have to learn to crotchet!
• This detailed AT-AT cake is surrounded by awesome stormtrooper figures. How does anyone ever work up the nerve to ever actually cut these cakes?!?!?

Until next time, geek out, peeps!

giveaway winner | learn something new every day

Random.org has spoken, and the winner of a spot in Shimelle Laine's "Learn Something New Every Day" online class is...

Elsie!!

Wow would love the chance to take this class.  Fingers crossed. Thanks for the opportunity.

Elsie, you didn't leave any contact information in your comment, so please email me at jediflame (at) gmail (dot) com so I can pass your info along to Shimelle.

Thanks to everyone who entered! Be sure to check back tomorrow as I'll be posting another fun giveaway.

counterfeit kit blog hop | august 2011

Happy Saturday, blog hoppers, and welcome to the August edition of the Counterfeit Kit blog hop! This month we have some special fun stuff going on as part of Counterfeit Kit's partnership with Allison Davis' awesome Sketch Support site- she created an exclusive sketch (which can be found here on the Counterfeit Kit blog) just for our blog hop this month!

With the bright, fun colors of Echo Park's Country Drive collection gracing my kit this month I knew I wanted to get more of li'l miss Sophie's first birthday party photos scrapped, so I printed up a few of her opening her gifts and used them to create this layout.

I haven't made a two-page layout in quite a long time now, and I'd forgotten what a pain it is to "stitch" the two halves of the spread together in Photoshop...especially since I've upgraded from Elements 6 to CS5 in the intervening time and everything is just a little bit different in the new version.

Here are close-ups of the left and right pages...

Bling and flowers seemed like natural choices for embellishments on this page- it's not often that I go all girly and fun on a layout, and I decided that I'd just go all the way on this one!

This page also shows off one of my favorite techniques lately- adding a messy, thin layer of white paint over a busy patterned paper. It helps the title, embellishment, or whatever happens to get put in that space to pop out even more!

Thanks so much for visiting today! Please hop on over to Sheri's blog next and take a look at what she has in store for you this month!

friday favorites | august 26, 2011

Happy, happy Friday evening, peeps!! I hope everyone has had a great week. Mine has been cah-ray-zee busy, but in a good way (instead of last week before when it was nutso in a "I want to crawl under a rock and hide sort of way). The week started off with drama over a button, of all things, but quickly turned into an awesome get-things-done time. I finalized plans to bring lots of great new content both to this blog and to Scrapbook Update in the coming months, so be on the lookout for some fun!

Also, did you see this from October Afternoon??!?!?

Oh, my, they've really outdone themselves this time with the new Christmas release- here's hoping I can get my hands on it soon!

Now, how about a rundown of some fun ideas I culled from around blogland this week?

From the top left:

• Elle's Studio recently ran a series of blog posts introducing their new design team members and showing glimpses of their scrapping spaces. I love Keshet Starr's IKEA-infused space (and congrats on the bébé, Keshet!). 
• Keisha Campbell shares a gorgeous mini album that she put together using the August kit from Jenni Bowlin Studios.
• Lisa Andrews posted about her scrap room makeover, complete with photos of the completed space.
• Learn tips for taking better self portraits at Elsie Larson's (formerly Flannigan) blog, A Beautiful Mess.
• Danielle Flanders has a beautifully detailed mini album posted at Pink Paislee.
• Get a complete how-to on making these cute stitched flowers at the Pebbles, Inc. blog.
• I just can't get enough of these lovely 4x6 Summer mini albums!! Gracie Swainson shares her creation at the Elle's Studio blog.
• Fontography geeks will love this Periodic Table of Typefaces from How About Orange.
• Marcy Penner and her studio were also featured at Elle's Studio as part of their design team intros. I absolutely love the rainbow of spray mists all lined up on her shelves!

Have a scrappy weekend!

studio calico boardwalk counterfeit

It's no secret that I love kits. I adore kits. They make my scrapping life so much easier by instantly narrowing down the choices from everything in my insanely huge stash to a neat pile of pre-coordinated items ready and waiting for my next project or crop.

Sometimes the kit that I make each month as part of my design team duties at Counterfeit Kit isn't enough to satiate my addiction, especially when something as lovely as the August 2011 kit from Studio Calico comes along. As soon as I saw those lovely aquas, I knew it would be perfect for scrapping some of my favorite Aruba photos. So, I did what I always seem to be doing with kits these days- I copied it!!

The photo above is Studio Calico's main kit, Boardwalk, and below is my interpretation. I already had several of the papers, and I was able to find substitutions for the others in my paper stash. Most of the embellishments are also different, but overall I think it captures the feel of the original.

I didn't stop with the main kit, though!! Nope, I plowed right ahead and copied all four add-ons, too!

The Sea Glass add-on (original pictured above with my interpretation below) had a lot more neutrals in it, which will be really nice to have to offset the very saturated tones of the main kit. You can also see from the two stickers sheets in the kit that I'm not above including partially used items from my stash!

The Boogie Board add-on is filled with lots of primary colors to provide some bright pops of red and green. I don't have a lot of primary colored items in my stash, but I still managed to find several items that worked well here. I even had the exact shade of baker's twine as the original!

The Tide Pool add-on was the most challenging for me, but in the end perhaps my favorite of the supporting kits. I just love that stamp paper from (the sadly no more) Girls' Paperie. And those woodgrain alphas from Sassafras are one of my all time faves!

Sandcastle is the final add-on for this kit, and surprisingly I had one of these papers and close matches for the rest! I did a lot of subbing out for the embellishments, but that's one of the things I love about making my own kits- if I have something in my stash that means I liked it enough to buy it, meaning that theoretically I should love everything in my kit!!

You'll be seeing this kit used in many upcoming layouts- I've already got several planned out and ready to scrap!