Quick and Easy Scrapbooking

Next time you want to scrapbook but are feeling short on time, try a quick and easy layout like this one. It features two sheets of black dotted cardstock, one sheet of red dotted cardstock and some letter stickers. Not only is this layout quick to make, it also uses minimal supplies and is easy on your pocketbook! If your quote takes more letter stickers than you have on hand, attend one of our crops and use our die cut machine to cut your own title.

Jumpstart your journaling

No doubt your friends and family members each have certain personality traits that make them unique. If you can't take a picture of it, how can you showcase it in your layout? Try this: gather some favorite photos of the individual and write about their special uniqueness.

As an example, my daughter has a very dry sense of humor and often quotes movie lines she thinks are hilarious. To be honest, I don't always "get" the things she finds amusing...but I want to document how endearing it is to me. Even though I don't have a photo of her sense of humor, it's an important part of who she is. In this layout, I discuss her sense of humor and included a movie quote I hear her say almost every day.

Part of this layout features a fun technique we wanted to share. On the left side of the layout, we cut off half of one of these fun Maya Road screens:

Behind different sections, we backed it with coordinating papers from Basic Grey. Hope you'll give it a try!

Canvas album

We've restocked the beautiful canvas albums from Prima so if you didn't get one the first time, now is your chance! These 8x8" albums feature a plain canvas cover with 5 canvas inner pages and 5 transparent page protector-like pages. This is one of those albums where you can really let your creativity go crazy! Here's one we did, and wanted to share some techniques you might like to try.

For the cover, a liquid adhesive was used to attach a crocheted doily. The flowers are some new flower sprays we just got in, also made by Prima. The larger pink Prima roses come in a package of five, and were originally white. We sprayed dark pink Glimmer Mist on a paper towel, then lightly colored the outer rose petals for a subtle look. The title was stamped directly onto fabric and a Melissa Frances key was added for a vintage look.

Here's a look at some of the inside pages.

This page used alphabet masks (cardstock letters or letter stickers would work too) that were sprayed over with alternating pink and blue Glimmer Mists. Once the letters were pulled up to reveal the white canvas, each letter outline was hand stitched. The canvas pages are actually two thicknesses of canvas stitched together with a cotton sheet between them. This allows you to stitch through a single thickness without the stitches showing on the backside.

Another technique we tried was to print the journaling and a favorite photo onto inkjet t-shirt transfer paper and iron it onto the canvas! Outlining the journaling with a permanent marker gives it a more handmade look. Then we added more Prima flowers... and you might recognize the butterflies as ones cut out of our favorite Graphic 45 papers!

The technique used on the canvas page above was to paint directly on the canvas with a Ranger Acrylic Paint Dabber. (On the Prima website, they recommend painting Artist Gesso medium on the canvas to assure the paint doesn't soak through to the other side. It works like a charm. If you want more details on Gesso, email me here.) We also used a cute section of one of our new papers from Cosmo Cricket.

The transparent page protector pages were just as much fun as the canvas ones! We tore doublesided Graphic 45 paper so it would be smaller than the page protector to allow the canvas page next to it to show through. We also decided to put goodies both inside and OUTSIDE of the page protector to give the album a textured feel. On the layout below, the paper and a swatch of lace are inside the page protector. The photo, green photo mat and the Prima flower are all attached to the outside of the vinyl page protector.

The page below features a vintage handerchief placed inside one of the page protectors. A button sewed to the top keeps the page protector closed and prevents the handkerchief from falling out. The photo is adhered to the outside of the page protector.

My personal favorite page of the album is the one below. Since this book features pictures of my mother's childhood, I sewed some found "little girl treasures" that belonged to her into the page protector. If you don't have a sewing machine, you could easily hand stitch or staple in a similar fashion. If you don't like how staples would look, they could be easily covered by gluing ribbon over the top of them. This album works wonderfully for showcasing memorabilia other than photos!

(The charm in the very center says "Forget Me Not")

Hope you'll give one of these canvas books a try! This one has a sewing/vintage theme so it features more stitching and fabric notions, but the possibilities are truly endless. We'd love to see what you create with this album. Just email us a photo and we'd love to share it on the Bloomin' Blog as an inpsiration to others!

Let's go to the fair!

Summertime means county fair time and our own Monroe County Fair is July 25- August 1. For those of you who are Monroe County residents, we hope you'll plan to exhibit your scrapbook creations in the Fair's Scrapbooking Division. Bloomin' Scrapbooks will be providing both the Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion Awards, so start planning your entries now! Entries will be accepted at the fairgrounds on Wednesday, July 22 between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. This year separate categories have been created so you can use both 12x12 and 8.5x11.

Each class listed below will have a Champion and a Reserve Champion for both page sizes if merited. One overall Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion will be selected for the Scrapbook Division.

EVENT CLASS CATEGORIES:

• Birthday
• Weddings
• Graduations/Reunions
• Sports/Athletics
• Any other

HOLIDAY/SEASONS CLASS CATEGORIES:

• Spring/Easter
• Summer/ July 4th
• Halloween
• Fall/Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• Winter/New Years
• Religious Holidays
• Any other

ACTIVITIES/ORGANIZATIONS CLASS CATEGORIES:

• Scouts (boys and girls)
• 4-H, School Clubs
• Music
• Military
• Any other

PLACES CLASS CATEGORIES:

• Vacations
• School
• Zoo
• Pool
• Beach
• Other

FAMILY & CHILDREN CLASS CATEGORIES:

• Playtime/Dress-up
• Brother/Sister
• Parent
• Baby
• Grandparents/children
• Pets
• Cousins/Aunts/Uncles
• Other

OUTDOORS CLASS CATEGORIES:

• Camping/hiking/hunting
• Fishing/boating
• Picnics
• Gardening/farming
• Other

MISCELLANEOUS CLASS CATEGORIES:

• Portraits
• Black and White
• Heritage
• Stamping
• Brag Book
• Calendar
• Recipe book
• Other

SCRAPBOOKING PROJECTS CLASS CATEGORIES:

• Purse/tin
• Scrapbook frame
• Clock/mouse pad
• Other

We can't wait to see all your amazing entries. See you at the fair!

(And don't forget, the SHOP HOP starts TODAY!!!)

It's time for a road trip!

Picture this... you on a road trip to "paradise" with a group of your best scrappin' friends, what could be better?! Sound good? Well now is your chance! Once again we're a participant in this year's annual Southern Indiana/Northern Kentucky "Shop Hop".

Here's how it works. For only $5, we have "passports" available with a list of 10 scrapbook stores in our area. When you shop at each store, present your passport to get 20% off your entire purchase. Stores will be featuring free make-n-takes, prize drawings, snacks and surprises just for Shop Hop Passport holders. Each store will stamp your passport. At your final destination, leave your completed passport to be entered in the GRAND PRIZE DRAWING--a weekend for two at Bear Scrap Retreat!!

The Shop Hop starts this Friday, July 10th and goes through Sunday, July 26. Check out the official Shop Hop blog for ongoing updates and a list of all the participating shops. To make it even more fun, this year's Hop has a summer luau theme.

So call your scrapping buddies and start planning your fun roadtrips! At Bloomin' Scrapbooks, our free make-and-take will be this cute four page album designed by our own celebrity designer Lisa Dorsey. (One of Lisa's cards is featured on the COVER of the current newstand issue of Paper Crafts magazine!) And we have another special surprise for in store for shop hoppers. Let's just say... don't forget your camera so you'll have "proof" you really did take a trip to "paradise"!