Inspiration Friday: Vintage Sweet Love

I know it's kind of an oxymoron to say "new vintage"...but, I just love this trend in the crafting world. Making new things look "old". I'm a sucker for "shabby chic", too. So, when I got a coveted brown box from my favorite UPS man recently with the Pink Paislee Sweetness line inside, I was in pure scrappy heaven.

I gave a little sneak peek of a couple projects I made with the "Sweetness" line last week. Did you know that you can find instructions for my Valentine's mini album and "be mine" card on the MemoryWorks website here?

You can also find instructions for this layout, so you can make it your own:

With Valentine's Day coming up in a couple days, I also decided to make a little "home decor" project so I could enjoy the "sweet" paper in my living room, as well as in my scrapbooks.

Believe it or not, it only required one sheet of the Sweetness theme set, the coordinating Sweetness rubons, a yellow heart "badge" (reminds me of "flair"), a couple paper flowers, some Ranger Distress crackle paint, brown ink, ribbon or seam binding, 4" wooden letters and a paper-mache box! SO easy.

Trace the wooden letters on the patterned paper and cut out. Use adhesive (I used mod podge) to adhere the paper to the front and then trim and sand the edges once dry. Paint the sides, bottom and back of the letters with the Ranger Distress Crackle paint (scattered straw), then ink the edges of the letters with brown Colorbox ink...It really makes the crackle, vintage look complete!

Then, cover the paper mache box with the same patterned paper and paint the edges of the lid with the crackle paint. Once dry, adhere a strip of vintage seam binding (ribbon would work great, too) around the lid to soften the look. I added a rose rubon, flowers, and a button (badge) to the front right corner, but just decorate how you like. I merely sat the letters on top of the box, but you could adhere them, if you want.

Thanks for looking! So, what Valentine's projects are you cooking up? Have a great Valentine's Weekend!

Product Showcase-Product Tutorial

Stickles, Oh how I love my Stickles.

 

Stickles can create a sparkle and a bit of dimensions to any project. 

They come in about every color under the sun and are very affordable.

 Click HERE for a list of 101 Ways to use Stickles. 

I have chosen a few of my favorite ways below using MemoryWorks products and Stickles!

Use Stickels to make trails on insects

  Use Stickles to make a spiderweb sparkle

 Use Stickles to outline the letters in your title

 Use Stickles as a paint to put on petals of a flower.

I would also like to share a great way to store your stickles so they work easier for you.

1.Purchase an acrylic clear stand and some velcro.

2.Cut squares of the velcro and adhere to the back of the stand and the stickles. 3.Hang the Stickles upside down so they will flow easier when you use them.

 I hope you enjoy my tips and Stickles as much as I do.

Guest Designer Tues: Tour Brenda's Space!

I am here today to show you bits and pieces of my craft room. My space for crafting isn’t designed beautifully, but what it lacks in a good paint job and wall décor, it makes up for in functionality. I have only half of a 15x10 room, so I’ve got to stay organized. First I’ll show you my desk. It’s a big Ikea desktop that I can fit a lot of things on while I work.
This shelf holds so many things, and they are right at hand while I’m working. Small things are in jars, buttons are sorted by color family, and other products are grouped together. The turntable and ink pad holder are also placed so that I can work efficiently.
One of my favorite organizational tools is my Clip-It-Up. It stores so many things, and it keeps them right in the open. I forget I have things if they aren’t in the open! It sits immediately to the left of my desk for easy reach.

This shelf holds so much! I’ve got all my photos and tools in this shelf. It also sits to my immediate left. I love my ribbon tags! It’s a great way to store ribbon in order to keep it from getting wrinkled. I keep all of my larger ribbon reels in the skinny drawer of the shelf.
Finally, this is the shelf where I keep all my paper, finished cards, and albums in progress. This shelf is on the wall to the right of my desk. I keep my patterned paper in cropper hoppers, and my cardstock in trays.

It’s been a pleasure to have you visit my craft room today! Everything is within reach form my table, and I love that. I don’t always have a lot of time to craft so organization is key!

Thanks for the tour of your wonderful space, Brenda! We will all look forward to seeing what you made with the February MemoryWorks Express Kit next week!

February MemoryWorks Express Kit -- "Love Potion"

Love Potion - February 2011 MW Express Kit



Love is in the air here at MemoryWorks! Gather your supplies and mix up your creativity with this month's MemoryWorks Express kit! Take some oh-so-sweet Valentines-themed patterned papers, stir in some delectable letter stickers, swirl in some super sweet cardstock borders and luscious shapes and voila' you've got a creative "Love Potion" that is sure to make anyone fall in love!
The MemoryWorks Express kit is only $29.95* per month and packed full of goodies!
*Doesn't included shipping, handling & sales tax.

January 2010 MemoryWorks Express Kit Contains:
Patterned Paper
{1} 12x12 In Love - Love Birds (Fancy Pants)
{1} 12x12 True Love - Love Birds (Fancy Pants)
{1} 12x12 Only One - Love Birds (Fancy Pants)
{1} 12x12 Pretty Lace - Sweetness (Pink Paisley)
{1} 12x12 Clothes Pins - Modern Homemaker (October Afternoon)
{1} 12x12 South Fourty - Farm Fresh (October Afternoon)
{1} 12x12 Daisy Calendar - Sew Cute Die Cut (KI Memories)
Solid Cardstock
{1} 12x12 Walnut Cream (Bazzill)
{1} 12x 12 Strawberry Splash (Bazzill)
{1} 12x12 Raspberry Splash (Bazzill)
{1} 12x12 Kraft (Bazzill)
Embellishments
{3} 12" Canvas Borders - Sweetness (Pink Paislee)
{4} Twitterpatted Stackers - Assorted Styles (Pebbles)
{1} Je't Adore Embellishment Box Kit (Making Memories)
Includes the following:
{1} Heart Shaped Box
{9} Paper Blossoms
{6} Paper Roses
{3} Large Paper Flowers
{1} Rolled Fabric Flower
{1} Gem Buckle
{1} Plastic Heart
{1} Glitter Heart
{1} Yard Embossed Heart Trim
{1} 24" Velvet Ribbon
{1} 24" Plaid Ribbon
{1} 20" Paper Strip Trim
Gems, Pearls, Sequins and Buttons
Bonus Cards
{1} 5.5 x 8.5 Walnut Cream (Bazzill)
{1} 5.5 x 8.5 Strawberry Splash (Bazzill)
{1} 5.5 x 8.5 Raspberry Splash (Bazzill)
{1} 5.5 x 8.5 Pineapple Bliss (Bazzill)
{1} 5.5 x 8.5 Kraft (Bazzill)
{5} 5 3/4 X 4 3/8 Natural Envelopes

To sign up for these awesome monthly kits, contact your local MemoryWorks Independent Scrapbooking Consultant. Trust me, you will LOVE these kits!

Happy Scrappin'!

Inspiration Friday - Introducing Sarah Crawford

Sarah Crawford, TeamWorks Creative Team Member, will be providing some inspiration here on the MemoryWorks blog on Fridays in February. Let's get to know her and her creative style!

Sarah Crawford has been a scrap-addict for 13 years...though if you consider she was an avid sticker-collector as a child (gotta love those magnetic albums full of Mrs. Grossman stickers!), she's really been paper-craft-infatuated her entire life. Sarah has attended three Creating Keepsake University events, and participated and volunteered at numerous Scrapbook Expo's in Northern California. Her projects have been featured on the Creative Imaginations and (later this month) on the Fancy Pants Designs blog. In October of 2006, she joined the MemoryWorks family as an independent consultant. This is her third year as a member of the MemoryWorks Teamworks creative team. She's also an employee and design team member for the Green Tangerines store and monthly kit club in Rocklin, CA. Before staying at home with her three children, Sarah worked as a corporate trainer teaching career development and human resources courses in two financial companies. She earned a BA in Communications and an MS in Organization Development/HR. Sarah lives in the foothills of Northern California with her husband and three children, a boy and two girls, enjoying the "country" life.

Sarah is so excited to be part of the 2011 TeamWorks Creative team! Here's what she says:

"I love MemoryWorks and the products we carry. Here's a little sneak peek of my style. And, some projects I'll be sharing in the month ahead... Watch on the Memory-Works website inspiration page and here on the blog for more..."

I created this Valentine and February "Love Notes" countdown mini-album using the Pink Paislee Sweetness line. One of my favorite Valentine's paper lines of all time!

I created this single page 12x12 layout to capture my son's "Fans" at his baseball game using the Crate Paper School Spirit line, Tim Holtz journaling and adage tickets, and American Crafts Thickers. Some of my favorite products in the current catalog!

I created this double page 12x12 layout "Virginia City" using the Cosmo Cricket Wanted line. I love the 6x6 paper pads we carry for adding patterned papers to layouts, mini-albums, and cards. An inexpensive way to get a lot of different patterns!

Thanks for looking!

Product Showcase - Introducing Sarah Jimerson

Sarah Jimerson – TeamWorks Media Team

Sarah has been a scrapbooker for about 5 years and loves being able to use her craft to capture her family’s memories and stories. She has a very simple, graphic style to her layouts and lately has been in love with the vintage looks and artsy mediums out there for scrapbookers. Sarah is a consultant for MemoryWorks and is so excited to be on the team for 2011.

I am so excited to be part of the TeamWorks 2011! I can't wait to share some of my projects with you. Here is a sneak peak of my design style.

My favorite line from 2010 was Crate Papers Restoration line. Here are a few projects I created with that line.

www.snippetsofme.net

Guest Designer Tues: Meet Brenda Rose!

We'd like to introduce our FEBRUARY 2011 MemoryWorks Guest Designer! Brenda has been wowing us with her beautiful projects on the MW Studio message boards and idea gallery lately... we are SO looking forward to seeing what she has in store for us as part of our team for the month!
My name is Brenda Rose, and I’m so glad to be the Guest Designer at Memory Works for February! I live in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with my husband, our son, a spoiled beagle, and a sassy black cat. I started scrapbooking about 21 years ago. There wasn’t much out there back then. But, my, how things have changed! Memory Works is a great place to find a vast assortment of paper crafting needs, and I think that’s what I love most about it. As I show you my work throughout the month, you’ll notice that my style is definitely clean lines. I really like collections where I can find matching elements. It makes crafting life so much easier, don’t you think? I hope that you find something new in my work and that it inspires you to take out your paper crafting supplies!
I want to show you some projects I created with My Mind's Eye Union Square. I think it can be an overwhelming paper assortment to look at because of all the glitter and patterns. But I think that's what makes this collection so much fun!

I look forward to being with you the rest of the month and showing you some other ideas I have!

Project List:
My Mind's Eye: Union Square Theme Set, Perfect Layered Stickers, and Beautiful Day Trims
Zva Classic Double Flourish Bling
Recollections Gems and Pearls
Martha Stewart Vellum
Buttons from stash jar