The Bloomin Blog

Thanks for the memories!

2010-02-21T13:07:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, Bloomin' Scrapbooks will be closing at the end of March. Our remaining merchandise is being discounted so plan to stop in soon to get the best selection. If you're interested in any of our store fixtures including paper racks and slat board, please contact us.

The staff, design team, customers and friends of Bloomin' Scrapbooks would like to thank Sharon for all her work over the years to make Bloomin' Scrapbooks the wonderful place we've grown to love. It is a rare treat when a store becomes more than just a place to shop. It's been a place where we've made new friendships, shared our cherished photos and memories, laughed (a lot!!), raised money for breast cancer and enjoyed a hobby that is truly more than paper and glue. We wish Sharon much happiness in her well-deserved retirement!

Love is in the air

2010-02-01T22:42:00.000-05:00

Love is in the air, and it's making its way into our scrapbook pages! Here are a couple of sneak peeks we want to share with you. First, here's a look at the February page of the month kit, available soon. It features beautiful Basic Grey papers and as an added bonus, you'll receive an entire booklet of alphabet rub-ons!

Mark your calendar to join us this Thursday, February 4 for our Vintage Valentine layout class featuring vintage look papers from Fancy Pants.

In this class, we'll show you how to take this (coffee filters):

And add some of this (glimmer mist):

To make this unique page embellishment:

Congratulations!

2010-01-17T22:54:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to design team member Lisa Dorsey! One of Lisa's amazing layouts is featured in this month's issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Be sure to check out Lisa's blog for more of her inspiring layouts and projects!

Also, be sure to mark your calendar for the upcoming Mega Crop and Garage Sale on Saturday, January 23. If you'd like to participate in the crop or sell goodies at the garage sale, please call us soon to assure your spot.

Out with the old and in with the new!

2010-01-03T21:12:00.001-05:00

First, how about "out with the old"? Mark your calendar for January 23, when we will be hosting the annual used supplies garage sale. Clean out your used supplies and make money from it to purchase new... what could be better? Or plan to shop the garage sale to get great deals on slightly used supplies from the scraprooms of your fellow scrappin' friends. This year's event will be held at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in conjuction with our annual Mega Crop. If you'd like to sell off some of your goodies, please contact us for further information.

Now, "in with the new"! We just couldn't wait to show you some of the new goodies we've just received. The manufacturers are releasing their winter/spring product lines and we are so excited to bring them to you! Take a look at this "Printer's Tray" from 7 Gypsies. Each pane is the size of an ATC card. Use it to display your ATCs or make a lovely scrapbook/photo collage for your wall. We only have a few left... can't wait to see how you use this!

If you love the canvas albums from Prima, have a look at the new ones that have just arrived from Chatterbox! These cute albums are smaller than the ones from Prima and each comes with it's own canvas bag.

Of course, we're always excited to offer new lines from Basic Grey. Stop in to check out their newest line

"Origins". Featuring beautiful greens, browns and yellows, it gives layouts an earthy feel. Check it out:

And finally, here's a sneak peek at our soon-to-be-released January page kit:

Christmas photo tips

2009-12-21T22:52:00.000-05:00

Hope your holiday shopping is "wrapping up" and you're getting settled in for a weekend of family, friends and unforgettable memories! Just wanted to take a few minutes to give you some quick holiday photo tips and ideas.

Take photos in similar locations each year. Looking through some heritage photos, I realized just how many family photos were taken in front of Christmas trees over the years. Imagine a themed page or album titled "O Christmas Tree." Other ideas might be photos each year with Santa, or photos with the cousins all in front of the fireplace. Maybe start your own tradition or look for common themes in your current holiday photos and continue them this year!

Mom's family in front of the tree 1955:

Dad in front of the tree 1967:

Our family in front of the tree 1971:

One week old, in front of the tree 1992:

Coordinate your family's outfits. It sounds almost "silly" but a great idea for getting good photos of your kids together at Christmas is to dress them in clothes that match. The photo of my son and nephew below is visually pleasing since their shirts match! Imagine the same photo with one wearing light green and the other wearing bright purple and yellow...not nearly the same effect as when they coordinate.

For portrait type shots, get in closer. Although you defnitely want to capture the action, decor and sights of the holiday gathering, take a few portrait type photos of groups or individuals. For those friends and family you don't see often, these photos become treasured keepsakes as well as great photos to use for non-holiday layouts. Since typically everyone is in a festive mood, it's also a great opportunity to capture personalities. The photos below are all ones taken at family holiday gatherings---just remember to get in CLOSE! :-)

Santa's wish list

2009-12-06T14:46:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to send your Santa in to shop for all the favorite scrapbookers on his list! We've got lots of great gift ideas and if you'd like us to point him in a certain direction for you, just let us know!! For the extra good crafters, Santa might want to consider giving the gift of an entire weekend of scrapbooking with us from January 15-17 at the beautiful French Lick Resort. If you've never been, the resort is a treat in itself. Built in the early 1900s, this hotel has a rich history and retains all of its glorious heritage. Online registration begins December 10. Check out their website here. Hope you can join us!

We also wanted to share this Prima canvas album we created to house this year's Christmas photos. Because it comes with both canvas and transparent page protector pages, it provides a great background to try new techniques as well as utilize lots of different textures. The best part--sewing in the book is completely optional!

Here's a closer look at the cover detail. To create the Santa embellishment, use a punch out circle from a Graphic 45 Christmas die cut sheet. Adhere it to a button, then cover it with a clear page pebble.

For the title page, use letter masks to spell a holiday greeting, then spray with Glimmer Mist. Adding buttons to dot the "I" and adhering ribbon gives it a homespun feel.

Create this cute snowman page by spraying a canvas page with Glimmer Mist. Paint two chipboard circles with Ranger crackle paint. Add ribbon scarf, button eyes, pearl smile and a cardstock carrot nose to make your snowman come to life!

On this page, paint the background with acrylic paint and add a cut out from Graphic 45 Christmas paper. Use your Crop-a-dile tool to punch holes down the entire side of the canvas page. Tie in ribbons and jingle bells to give your book a true Christmas feel.

Here's another technique to try. Place a crocheted doily or lace over a canvas page and spray with Glimmer Mist. The lace acts as a mask and once removed, can also be used as a lovely accent on another page.

Use buttons to create a one-of-a-kind Christmas tree:

A few more photos of the outside:

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T20:29:00.001-05:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

If you're out doing your Christmas shopping this weekend, don't forget to stop in and see us! We have lots of great sale items and Christmas inspiration ideas on display. If your plans are to avoid the stores this weekend, here's a great weekend project for you to create. It uses the fantastic Christmas papers from Basic Grey, along with a small album we painted pink. This would make a great gift album, or keep it for yourself to house this year's holiday photos.

Christmas Cards from Scraps

2009-11-17T23:07:00.001-05:00

Are you one of those crafters that cannot bear to part with even one small leftover scrap of paper, or a scrap piece of ribbon "that I might work into another project"? If so, I'm glad I'm not alone! Ha! The holidays are a great time to make use of those scraps and create beautiful holiday cards. Cards make a perfect canvas for trying out new techniques without worry of ruining an entire two-page scrapbook layout. An added bonus is not having to spend extra money on holiday cards this year. We're also sure those who receive your cards will love having a handcrafted creation made just for them! Here are a few we came up with using scrap papers and notions:

Ideas to note: Use holly leaves from old Christmas decor and buttons as berries. Since it's a card, you don't have to worry about archival safety. You can also cut out scenes from paper (like the sledding dogs), attach it to scrap chipboard then mount on pop dots for a unique card embellishment.

Ideas to note: Who says Christmas cards have to use Christmas paper? You may recognize the script paper as one from 7 Gypsies from a few years ago. Another technique is to use your cool border punches to create a visual design element (like the red strip above) on your card.

Ideas to Note: If your paper is a printed image on a white paper (such as the Santa), color it in with chalks or ink. This also works well with papers printed to look like newpaper ads. Tying thin twine scraps through buttons gives your projects a vintage feel.

Ideas to Note: Cover chipboard shapes with paper to create cute embellishments like this snowman. And don't forget to raid your button and ribbon stash to find the perfect "clothes" for him to wear! (You may recognize these scrap papers as the Cosmo Cricket Christmas line from a couple of years ago. Still so pretty!)

Count Your Blessings

2009-11-15T18:01:00.000-05:00

As scrapbookers, this time of year gives us a great opportunity to document why we are thankful. Future generations will be given the gift of a unique perspective into the person you are today. And maybe they'll feel an ever closer connection with you! Here's a page layout to inspire you to try your own!

This layout uses only cardstock and is very simple to create. Cut strips of cardstock in varying widths. Attach them to scrap paper and draw a curve across them. Remove from the scrap paper and cut each strip along the curve. The swirls are cut from black cardstock using a Quickutz die. The title is glittered chipboard letters from Pink Paislee. Add a few rub-ons, photos and flowers to each strip. Quick and easy!

We also wanted to share a peek at an upcoming class project. Hope you'll plan to join us on December 12 to create this two page layout using Graphic 45 papers. The colors work well for Christmas, but as you can see below, it works for any occasion.

Holiday project tips

2009-11-08T16:26:00.001-05:00

The holidays are the perfect time to get more from your scrapbook supplies! We used the beautiful Christmas/winter product lines from Melissa Frances just to see how many tips we could find to share with you. Our first project was this Christmas layout:

Tip #1--Add pearls or jewels to chipboard elements to give them some spice. The glittered chipboard holly leaves were nice as is, but adding the pearls helps it really stand out.
Tip #2--Create embellishments from the product packaging. The holly leaves were part of a punch out sheet of glittered chipboard shapes. The photo corner to the bottom left of the photo was cut from a corner of the glittered chipboard packaging (the part that remains after all the chipboard shapes are punched out of it.) It perfectly coordinates and didn't cost a thing!
Tip #3--Use sandpaper to distress stickers and papers. The "Holiday Bear" label had a shiny surface and didn't fit the vintage feel of the rest of the layout. Lightly sanding the top and adding ink makes it fit right in.
Tip #4--Use your layout leftovers to make a card:

Tip#5--Make a vintage star to use on the card! Ink the edges of a chipboard star. While the ink is wet, paint the star with Ranger crackle paint so some of the ink blends into the wet paint. Using a hairdryer to dry the paint will cause it to really crackle (more than air drying does). Thread twine through button and tie a bow, then adhere it to the star.
Tip #6--Recycle household product packaging to make a COOL holiday gift container. Here's how. Cover an empty clean cardboard package with patterned paper. We started with this container:

We added our leftover scraps from the layout and card projects to create this unique package just ready to hold candy or other Christmas gift goodies!

Only 60 Days Until Christmas!

2009-10-25T20:05:00.004-04:00

With Halloween only a few days away, it's hard not to think ahead and realize Christmas will be here before we know it! If you're one of those who loves the holidays and can't wait to get started on Christmas crafts and handmade gifts, here's a project for you to try-- an adorable Christmas star wreath from Kaisercraft.

The wreath is comprised of wood stars, ready for you to personalize to create your own special keepsake.

We couldn't wait to try this project ourselves! Here's what we did. The stars are packaged so two stars are attached together with thin wooden strips. Using very gentle pressure, we broke the thin strip so each star was separated. To smooth the edge and remove any evidence of the wood strip, we sanded each star.

Then we inked the outside edge and top edges of each star with brown ink.

Using each star as a template, we traced around each and cut the paper just inside the pencil lines.

This step was repeated for each star and the papers were adhered to each star. For two stars, we used photos rather than paper. Double sided paper works great for this project since the colors on each side are typically made to coordinate. Once all the stars were covered, the stars were assembled and adhered to the wood circle base. A liquid adhesive works well to assure the parts stay together. If you'd like a hanging loop on the back of the wreath, attach it to the wood circle base prior to gluing the stars to it.

For six of the top stars, we added jingle bells. To do this, we punched holes in the stars with the Cropadile.

We put ribbon through the holes and tied a bell to the top. Back of star:

Front of star:

The completed project!

Hope you'll give this fun project a try!!

October Page Kit

2009-10-11T21:17:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to give you a quick look at the October page kit that will be available later this week. It features some of our favorite papers from Pink Paislee. With this kit, not only will you get the lovely papers, but also a complete sheet of matching alphabet stickers, matching rub-ons and a whole set of Pink Paislee specialty brads (including some covered in corduroy!) The colors work great for fall, and with the alphabet stickers you can personalize the title to fit your photos. Happy Autumn!

Vintage, vintage and more vintage!

2009-09-21T23:58:00.000-04:00

If you love all things vintage, especially when it comes to scrapbooking and cardmaking, we've got some goodies you'll be sure to love! Check out these beautiful vintage papers from Webster's Pages. You'll be amazed at the high quality and sturdiness of these lovely double sided papers. Just take a look at a few of their stunning lines we now have in stock:

Also, hope you can join us this Saturday, September 26 to create this vintage inspired recipe book using Graphic 45 papers. We'll be binding it with the Zutter Bind-it-All, so if you've not had a chance to try using the Zutter, this is your chance! If cooking and recipes aren't your "thing" this book would also work great as a mini album with a cooking theme. Rather than recipes, you could showcase photos of special meals or cooking influences in your life. The book features many tags that can be used for easily removeable recipes or maybe even journaling about past cooking attempts gone awry! You know, like the time as a teenager you decided to surprise your mom by getting up early and making scrambled eggs for her for breakfast. And how when the scrambled eggs ran all over her plate, she suggested putting them back in the skillet because "I like my eggs really hot." Not saying that ever happened to anyone here at Bloomin' Scrapbooks... um no,...absolutely not...! :-)

Happy Labor Day

2009-09-07T22:24:00.004-04:00

Hope everyone had a fun, relaxing and safe Labor Day weekend!

Just a reminder we're still collecting hand made cards to send to the troops in Afghanistan. Our "card drive" has been extended to the end of September. The soldiers request the cards we make so they can send them to their families here back home. Many of them are stationed in areas where it is very difficult to purchase daily use items, including greeting cards. The types of cards most requested by the troops are:

Cards for children (many of our troops are parents)
Holiday cards
Thinking of you
Love you/miss you

Bloomin' Scrapbooks will supply envelopes for those cards made standard A2 size, approximately 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" (i.e. the size of card you get if you use half of an 8-1/2" by 11" sheet of paper.) Please remember, no glitter or Stickles can be used on the cards. Glitter is detected by enemy survelliance equipment. Even a small amount of glitter that finds itself on a soldier's uniform can literally put his or her life in danger.

"Whoo Loves You"

To create the owl: Punch large oval for body. Punch three heart shapes,

use two upside down for ears and bottom of one for beak.

For feet, punch two small petaled flowers then cut in half.

Use buttons for eyes. So simple!

We've got a few cards to show you. For both stampers and scrappers, this is a great way to use those scraps you may have laying around as well as an opportunity to try out new techniques. And if you'd like, take a photo of the cards you make then email them to us here. We'd love to feature your creations on the Bloomin' Blog!

Tip for Making Memories Trimmer Owners

2009-09-06T00:24:00.008-04:00

Here's a tip for those of you who may own the "Making Memories Precision Paper Trimmer." In a moment of inspiration (that maybe wasn't too wise!), I decided to use it to cut thin chipboard. After that, it seemed to want to rip any paper I tried to cut, giving it a distressed edge look. Unfortunately distressed edges were not what I was after!

If you've had this happen with this particular paper trimmer, try these steps:

Slide the red button (located at the top right in the photo above) in the direction of the imprinted arrow.
You can now remove the silver slider bar.
Remove the rotary trimmer black plastic part from the silver slider bar. (i.e. remove the black thing you slide when you're cutting; it's the part with the "M" on it.)
Check for any tiny strips of paper that might be stuck in the cutting groove in the base of the trimmer. Remove any you find.
Here's the cool part! One of the great design features of this trimmer is it's self sharpening blade. When it starts ripping paper, it's usually because the blade has dulled. Take the black casing you removed in step three, and place it in the cutting groove but without the slider bar for now.
Move the casing along the cutting groove. As you move the casing, very slightly apply pressure so the rotary blade is moving along the left side of the cutting groove. You may hear a light metal-to-metal sound, similar to the sound a knife makes when it is moved along a sharpening stone. Do this several times to resharpen the blade.
Reassemble the trimmer.

Just like magic, it cuts clean and smooth again! Hope you don't find yourself needing this tip but in case you do, give it a try. (And maybe another tip is don't cut a big stack of chipboard with your "paper" trimmer! Ha!)

Welcome Kimber McGray!

2009-08-29T19:28:00.014-04:00

We are so excited that within only a few short weeks, we've had the opportunity to welcome two well known celebrity scrapbookers to Bloomin Scrapbooks! If you didn't get a chance to meet Kelly Goree a few weeks ago, you won't want to miss the chance to take a class from Indiana's own Kimber McGray. Kimber's clean, bright and graphic style earned her a spot on the Creating Keepsakes Magazine Hall of Fame. She has designed for several industry manufacturers including Jillybean Soup, Core'dinations, We R Memory Keepers, and Unity Stamp Designs.

So be sure to mark your calendar for her class on Saturday, September 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. As an added bonus, lunch is included in the cost of the class. Just take a look at the fun pages she will show us how to create using new products from Jillybean Soup:

Kimber has recently authored "Scrapbook Secrets", a true inspiration for creating amazing scrapbook pages. We do have copies of her book available and we're sure she would love to autograph one for you!

Please call or stop by soon to reserve your spot. Hope you can join us!

Congratulations!

2009-08-23T16:51:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to Linda Connolly for winning the Grand Champion award in scrapbooking at the Monroe County Fair! Stop in to see Linda's winning entry currently on display at Bloomin' Scrapbooks.

Support our troops

2009-08-08T12:38:00.003-04:00

Calling all card makers---we've learned of an exciting opportunity to help our service men and women currently stationed overseas. As you might imagine, access to many items we take for granted each day are limited in the countries where they are serving. One of those items is greeting cards for when they want to send a note or something special to a loved one back home.

So, here's where we come in! Bloomin' Scrapbooks is collecting handmade cards to send to a division currently stationed in Afghanistan. If you would like to contribute, please bring your cards into the store by September 15. We will provide envelopes for each card, so we ask they be standard size, either 3.5 by 5.5" or 5" x 7". The cards should also be white inside so the soldiers are able to easily write notes or letters inside them.

It's an amazing thing when a hobby we love can make a difference in the lives of others. And in this case, it's a "double bonus." The soldiers will appreciate being able to send a beautiful card to their loved ones, and no doubt the final recipient will cherish it!

Only two more weeks until Kelly Goree is here!

2009-08-01T19:27:00.008-04:00

Don't forget to mark your calendars and sign up for one of our few remaining slots in the classes Kelly Goree is teaching here on Friday, August 14 from 4-9 p.m. Even if you may be unfamiliar with Kelly, you've likely seen her work in scrapbooking magazines (including the recent cover layout of the April 2009 Creating Keepsakes magazine.) Here's more about Kelly:

Kelly Goree lives in the beautiful horse country of Kentucky with her husband of 11 years and her three rambunctious little boys. She was introduced to scrapbooking in early 2000 just after her oldest son was born and it quickly became a favorite hobby then all-out passion. She'll tell you if she's not out chasing her boys, you can find her scrapping! Kelly is a full-time staff designer and instructor for BasicGrey where she is a driving force in designing work for classes, tradeshows, catalogs, and special events. In 2006 she had the honor of being a Memory Makers Master and has over 300 published works that can been seen in the pages of Memory Makers, Creating Keepsakes, Better Homes & Garden's Scrapbooks Etc., Scrapbook Trends, Paper Trends, Scrapbooking & Beyond and other scrapping and paper arts publications.

We are so fortunate to have Kelly here with us to teach two 2-page layouts using two of the newer lines from Basic Grey. Kelly has lots of techniques to teach us including:

using Basic Grey Olio full color rub ons
paper piecing
how to create fun title and journaling blocks
make your own notebook paper
how to cut apart stickers, rub-ons and paper to make your own personal design
adapting layout sketches to fit your photos while keeping the design cohesive

Here's a look at one of the layouts Kelly will be teaching using the Basic Grey "Lemonade" papers. Just beautiful!

Quick and Easy Scrapbooking

2009-07-25T20:12:00.004-04:00

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

2009-07-23T19:04:00.009-04:00

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

2009-07-17T23:25:00.012-04:00

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!

2009-07-10T22:11:00.005-04:00

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!

2009-07-05T21:11:00.005-04:00

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"!

Circle of Friends

2009-06-24T21:13:00.003-04:00

If you're like us, one of the best things about scrapbooking is meeting new people and making friendships through our shared enjoyment of the same hobby. In honor of all the friendships in our lives, we have a Basic Grey Circle of Friends chipboard album kit available. Here are a few photos of the project... and maybe you'll recognize some familiar friendly faces! Stop in to see the completed album.

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

2009-06-14T22:53:00.004-04:00

Here's a new technique we've seen and just had to give it a try. Remember those paper beads we used to make as kids? Well who says they can't look great on a scrapbook page or card! On this layout, we used the beautiful vintage papers from Graphic 45. (Who says you can't use beautiful papers like these for a pet page?!!)

To make the rolled paper strips below the leftmost photo, cut small rectangles in various sizes. Roll them into a tube shape and use adhesive to keep them from unrolling. This is a great way to use your scraps to make an inexpensive yet very interesting page or card accents. Here's a closer look:

Hope you'll decide to give it a try!

Eight Layouts in Three Hours!

2009-06-11T21:45:00.003-04:00

Don't forget to mark your calendar for our popular "8 Layouts in 3 hours" class, this Saturday June 13. It's a great way to get caught up on your scrapbooking as well as trying out new papers and design ideas. And what's better than going home with eight COMPLETED layouts?! Here are just a couple of the layouts we'll be creating:

Be sure to stop back by soon. We've got a new technique to show you...!

Class Sneak Peek

2009-06-06T20:10:00.004-04:00

Here's a sneak peek at the June page of the month class we're having on June 18. We'll be using:

Distress Stickles

These Tim Holtz masks:

Paint Dabber:

Graduation Gift Albums

2009-05-31T15:40:00.008-04:00

Here's an idea for a quick gift album for the Graduate in your life. Albums that document the graduate's life make amazing gifts but are often very time consuming. If your special graduate has a particular hobby or interest, consider pairing photos of the hobby with life advice. Often our children's interests are great for teaching them life lessons, even if they don't realize it at the time. They will enjoy seeing photos of themselves doing something they love and you get an opportunity to share words of wisdom.

Below is an example of this type of album recently created for my nephew's high school graduation gift. I wanted to give him a keepsake that would document his love of hunting and at the same time reflect how his approach to hunting could also serve him well in his post-high school life. The life parallel's included:

"Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty"
"Do what you love"
"Be Safe"
"Aim before you shoot"
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"

(To be honest, I was initially unsure of how excited an 18 year old boy would be about receiving a scrapbook. Because each page showed him doing the thing he loves, he immediately showed it to all his other teenage friends in attendance!)What are your graduate's passions? Maybe basketball, scrapbooking, 4-H, a musical instrument, restoring a car?? Consider the skills they've developed as a result of pursing it. You'll be surprised at how quickly an album like this can be made. And your graduate will love it!

Sneak Peek

2009-05-31T14:40:00.001-04:00

Here's a sneak peek of the June page kit, available soon!

Scrap-n-$ave---Use your Leftovers

2009-05-18T02:12:00.005-04:00

If you're like us, once you finish a project with papers you love, you just can't bear to part with the leftover scraps. Or maybe you've purchased a package of flowers or other embellishments, used a couple, then end up with many unused ones sitting on your shelf. One money saving tip is to "use your stash." Recently we created a mini book using Graphic 45 and Teresa Collins papers. With the leftovers and a few others scraps that were laying around, we created this vintage layout:

Not only did we use up our scraps, but incorporated some new techniques too. Here are just a few ideas for you to try (see photos below):

For the two red flaps on the left of the photo---Use a 5 x 12 inch stip of double sided paper. Cut a 3 inch slit starting about halfway down right side. Fold back the two flaps. Put a pop dot under each flap so it doesn't fold down flat.
Tuck goodies under the flaps! We used some flowers and some leftover tags from our mini-book project.
Scraps with pictures or other designs that can be cut out make great embellishments, such as the clock with wings in the photo below. We cut this out of a leftover scrap, inked it to make it match the other papers better, added a jewel center (again 20 or so in a package!), then put it on pop dots to make it stand out.
Flower centers--using your leftovers is a great way to get creative with flower centers. Here we used a Tim Holtz gear and an extra tag. For one of the flower centers above, we used four mini brads.
Newsprint flowers-- Punch or hand cut flowers from patterned paper. Curl the petals of each flower up by rolling them around a pencil. Ink the edges. Use some of your button stash for the flower center. Put a pre-made paper flower underneath (the Kaisercraft ones come 25 or 50 to a package, so this is a great way to use your extras!)
Photo frame--The photo frame to the right of the photo started out as a white die cut that never seemed to make it onto any projects. We cut the frame into an "L" shape. After inking it to match the rest of the layout, a journaling stamp was used to randomly stamp lines on it. With pop dots underneath, it really frames the photo. And it's barely recognizable from the original!
Stitch your scraps--The script paper scrap at the top of the layout is attached to the page with adhesive. But to make it look more "intentional", create stitches with thread, fibers or twine. It's an easy way to add dimension and visual interest. Try using your leftovers. You might be surprised at the amazing layout you create!

Upcoming Classes

2009-05-12T20:43:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to share a bit about some upcoming classes.

Thursday, May 14--Page of the Month--We're SO excited to have designer Lisa Dorsey share her talents with us. She has been published in many magazines including Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbook Trends, Memory Makers, Paper Kuts, Scrapbooks Etc., Paper Crafts and several others! Lisa has recently relocated to our area and we are so fortunate to have her here!

Thursday, May 21--Debbie's Favorites--Below are a couple of sneak peeks of the TWO 2-page layouts we will create using Prima glittered and flocked papers. If you've wanted to try Fiskars border punches, here are a couple we'll use in this class:

Happy National Scrapbook Day!

2009-05-02T23:55:00.013-04:00

Hope you were able to stop by this weekend to see some of the great deals we have just for National Scrapbook Day. To celebrate the occasion, we wanted to share these free instructions for creating a simple yet attractive scrapbook page and card. For this project, we used the amazing papers from Pink Paislee. If you'd like to replicate this project, we have these exact papers available for purchase. Or "shop your stash" and find four coordinating papers. Don't have a circle shape paper on hand? Simply trace around a kitchen plate and create your own! Here's what you'll need:

Two sheets of this:

One sheet of this paper:

One of this beautiful blue:
One round paper:
And a package of these coordinating fabric flowers:
Let's get started. First cut the floral paper in half, leaving you with two 6 x 12" strips.

Next, cut the circle shape as shown below. Cut the top and bottom of the circle 2-1/4" from the edge. Once cut, you will have two similar pieces, each approximately 9 -1/4" x 2-1/4" at the widest parts. Cut the right side of the remaining circle 2-1/4" from the edge. The resulting piece will measure approximately 6" x 2-1/4" at the widest part. From the remaining part of the circle, cut a mat for a small photo. Save the leftover scraps for cardmaking. From the blue paper, cut two 3/4" x 12" strips. Remove flowers from packaging. Cut two 12" lengths of suede-look ribbon. Stamp blue paper with journaling template stamp and cut out.

Start with the two woodgrain papers as the base for the layout.

Find the 6 x 2-1/4" strip cut from the circle edge. Cut it in half, leaving you with two 3 x 2-1/4" pieces. Adhere each to bottom of layout as shown below:

Add the larger circle strips, being sure to overlap with the edges of the previously placed small circle edge.

Next adhere the floral strips above the circle edges, then adhere the thin blue strips above the floral paper:

Add photos and blue stamped journaling area to layout. For the photo with the plaid background mat, use pop dots to make it stand out. Adhere the fabric flowers and suede-look ribbon using a strong glue such as Crafter's Pick.

And you're finished!

Before you put your scraps away, use the leftovers to make this cute card to let someone special know you're thinking of them today!

Gift albums

2009-04-22T19:58:00.001-04:00

With Mother's Day and senior graduations quickly approaching, are you in search of a special and unique gift idea? Consider creating a mini album for your loved one. Teresa Collins has released a new line of 6 x 12" album components that you can completely customize for your special someone. Simply choose a style of chipboard covers, add the specially sized page protectors, then bind your completed album with a Zutter Binder. (If you don't have a Zutter Binder, stop by our crop room and use ours--so easy and fun!) We promise you'll end up with a keepsake you may not want to part with. If you use the Teresa Collins papers, there are many journaling prompts to help you tell your family story in a way that will speak to future generations. Here's one we created. In addition to the Teresa Collins papers, we also used the beautiful vintage lines from Graphic 45 and some from Karen Russell for Creative Imaginations.

Scrap and $ave

2009-04-18T00:04:00.003-04:00

We've got more ideas for stretching your papercrafting dollars. And this one is FREE!!

Artist Trading Cards

Did you know here at Bloomin Scrapbooks, we have a FREE Artist Trading Card swap once each month? It's a great chance to get together with fellow scrapbookers and card makers to create and trade these one-of-kind handmade cards. Each month we have a theme and it's always so much fun to see how everyone makes the theme their own. ATCs are a great way to try new techniques without fear of "messing up" an entire layout; it's also a great way to gather ideas and learn new techniques from others. Because they are the size of a playing card, they are easily created using your leftover scraps and can literally cost nothing to make! Upcoming dates and themes are:

May 5, 6-8 p.m. "Your Choice" (i.e. use your own theme!)

June 2, 6-8 p.m. "Masculine/men"

Here are some examples from past swaps here at Bloomin' Scrapbooks:

Cassidy Young:

Lori Clendening:

Leslie Miller:

Sharon Follendorf:

Debbie Ridlen:
Linda Connolly:

Upcoming Classes

2009-04-11T18:14:00.009-04:00

Scenic Route Layouts
Sat, April 18 10am-1pm
In this class we'll create 4 two-page layouts using a kit from the Scenic Route "Grafton" paper collection. You'll leave with extra chipboard embellishments and stickers. A great class for beginners. Kits are available if you cannot attend the class.

Chipboard and Acrylic album

Sat, May 9 10am-1pm

We'll use lots of Tinkering Ink products to create a mini album featuring both chipboard and acrylic pages. Just like in the class above, you'll have plenty of extras to take home including a sheet of matching die cut letters, felt shapes and rub-ons.

Scrap and $ave

2009-04-05T23:57:00.005-04:00

We're starting a new feature here on our blog, "Scrap and Save". With uncertain economic times, we are all more concerned with spending our money wisely, including our scrappin' dollars. Each week we'll give you ideas to stretch your creativity as well as your crafting budget. If you've got ideas to share with fellow scrapbookers and stampers, please email us or post a comment below.

Saving Idea #1--Come to a Crop

An easy way to stretch your scrapping budget is to attend scheduled crops here at the store or bring a friend and come crop in our workroom during non-class times. Not only will you enjoy the fellowship of other crafters, but you'll have access to all our fun tools. Think of the savings in cutting your own custom title from our die cut machine vs. purchasing pre-cut letter stickers. Not only is it economical, but will also coordinate perfectly with your pages! Or try some of our workroom rubber stamps on a special card project. We also have a large collection of punches available for your use. Use our Revolution machine to cut a die cut shape from scrap cardstock, then customize it with stamps, inking or even glitter. Maybe you've been saving for a special scrapbook tool... if it's available in our workroom, it's also a great opportunity to try before you buy! Be sure to check this quarter's newletter for our crop schedule.

Saving Idea #2--Use your Scraps

Many of us save our leftover scrap papers but if you're like me, sometimes I forget they're there! Next time you're scrapbooking or cardmaking, challenge yourself to use your scraps in a creative way on your project. The layout below uses scraps to create a flower embellishment as well as a coordinating photo mat. And using your scraps also frees up room in your scrapbooking space for when you do decide to purchase new items!

Keys to a Happy Home Mini Album

2009-03-31T21:20:00.000-04:00

All Cracked Up

2009-03-30T20:03:00.000-04:00

Here's another technique from our key album project. We used a chipboard house and heart from this cute set from Maya Road:
The house shape was painted with Ranger distress crackle paint. When the paint dries, it leaves a crackled finish. The thicker the paint, the deeper the cracks will be. One the paint dried, the house was lightly brushed with chalk ink to further accent the crackles. The smaller heart was covered with pink chalk ink and pink Stickles:
The final result:
Hope you'll give this technique a try!

Twinkling H2Os

2009-03-29T19:15:00.007-04:00

Have you tried Twinkling H2Os on your stamping and scrapbook projects? These are watercolor cakes of shimmery color. All you have to do is add water, dip your paintbrush and watch your project take on a whole new look. When you're finished, simply close the lid. The water evaporates, leaving the ink cake ready to go for your next project. For stamping, these are a great way to add color to a stamped image. Just be sure to use a waterproof inkpad when stamping. On our key album, we started with these lovely white Prima flowers:

We painted a few with a light green Twinkling H2O watercolor ink, and this was the result:

Just imagine all the possibilities with these shimmery "twinkling" watercolor inks!

Thinking about "Thickers"

2009-03-22T16:58:00.017-04:00

Recently while working on a mini album, American Crafts Thickers chipboard letter stickers were the perfect size for the project. Unfortunately the black ones we had didn't match the chosen pink and green color scheme! We decided to try an idea noted in a Creating Keepsakes magazine article by Jennifer McGuire. She suggested peeling off the top layer of manufactured chipboard accents, then changing their color. We started with these chipboard Thickers:

Once added to the mini album, the top layers were carefully peeled off:

Next, a paint dauber was used to paint the exposed chipboard white (Dauber= No mess!) : Once the paint dried, we covered each letter with pink Stickles glitter glue.
Then spread the glitter evenly across each letter and any other matching accents such as the white photo corner:

Take a look at the finished product and imagine it with the original color vs. the altered one:
So much fun we also used it for our album cover!
For some other pages of the mini-album, we had these foam Thickers in white. For this title, chalks were used to tint them light green to match the background paper.

This time, we tinted the white foam Thickers with pink ink, then added pink Stickles glitter. Fun! Hope you'll give some of these techniques a try next time you use your Thickers! Stop back soon to see more techniques from this fun key mini album as well as the completed project.

Move your scrapbooking to the wall

2009-03-15T10:56:00.009-04:00

Ever feel like sometimes you spend time creating scrapbook layouts and then all your work is hidden away in an album on the shelf? Here's a project to get your scrapbooking out in the open for all to see and enjoy! Try shopping your local discount or dollar store for unique photo frames or home decor frames. This one was found on clearance at a local discount merchant for only $4. Even though the picture and the frame color didn't match the current decor, the detail in the frame as well as the glass backing were amazing.

If you would like to alter a project like this, here are the simple steps: first, decide if you are going to leave the frame as is or change the color. For this project, ivory better matches the existing decor. Sand the frame:

Next, paint the wood areas of the frame with acrylic paint. For this project, Making Memories acrylic paint was used. Several coats are needed and care should be taken not to paint the glass areas.

Once the frame is painted, you're ready to create your scrapbook page! Measure the dimensions of the area to be covered and create a scrapbook page using the same dimensions. Attach the page with removable adhesive. This way, you can change the page as often as you desire. Just think how fun it will be to update this project as the seasons change. (The "Home is where the Heart is" saying was created by inking Grungeboard letters for "Home" and "is" then using EK Success letter stickers for "is" "where" and "the".) Take a look at the finished project:
Hope you'll give this a try!

Fill the Frame

2009-03-13T22:59:00.012-04:00

With Spring just around the corner, we can't wait for all the great photo opportunities that lie ahead--Easter, budding trees, Spring Break trips, and daffodils. Just think of all the new scrapbook pages we'll be able to create! Here's a photo tip you can try as you capture all these great memories: fill the frame. What does that mean? Try filling the entire camera frame with your subject and see what kind of results you get. Here are a few examples:

Kitty before:

Fill the frame:

Often by filling the frame, you can eliminate distracting objects in the background and focus completely on the subject. This technique often results in very striking images.

Statue at Hoover Dam (notice the distracting signs in the background):

Fill the frame:

Landmark before:

Fill the frame:

If you're a little hesitant to try this when you're taking the photo, this effect can be simulated at a digital photo processing kiosk. Simply choose the customize option when uploading your photos to be printed. Use the zoom and crop features to "fill the frame" with your subject. You can also have fun trying other kiosk customize features such as black and white or sepia tones.

Sweet baby before:

Fill the frame with sweet baby's face (also converted to black and white):

We hope you'll give this a try and let us know if it works for you!

Fun new goodies!

2009-03-01T12:50:00.018-05:00

We're getting lots of new goodies arriving daily and just couldn't wait to share them with you! Take a look at a few of the new papers from the Basic Grey Porcelain collection: Just imagine the beautiful layouts you could create with these papers! We also have the new Basic Grey Marrakech collection featuring vibrant oranges and royal blue.

One of our favorite new arrivals is the "Mommy and Me" line from Prima. Owls are the latest craze in paper crafting and we think this cutie from Prima is one of the best we've seen! This collection also features some very cute glittered papers and rub-ons.

Prima has also released some amazing embellishments. Stop in to see these lovelies in person; they are simply stunning! The butterflies are approximately 3" wide and are two to a package.

These glittered star sprays have so many possibilities:
And Graphic 45 has done it again with their new lines of vintage inspired double-sided papers. Here are some of our new arrivals from their Fashionista Collection.

Front:

Back:Front:
Back:

Be sure to stop in soon to see the rest of these paper lines now in stock. And we also have new product releases arriving daily!

Quick Card Project

2009-02-22T13:35:00.005-05:00

Looking for a quick card using supplies you may already have on hand? This little chickee is made using just a couple of punches and is both quick and fun!

Here's our step by step instructions:

1. Cut and score card background from blue cardstock.

2. Attach Fancy Pants Designs patterned paper to front. We stitched the sides, but it would be just as cute to leave unfinished or use a stitch pattern stamp to duplicate the effect.

3. To make chickee: Punch large circle from yellow cardstock. Punch four heart shapes from dark orange cardstock. Place three hearts behind the top of the circle with the tops peeking out. Cut the last heart in half, with the bottom being a triangle for the beak and the top becoming wings. Add two thin strips of green cardstock for legs and a button for the eye.

4. Stamp sentiment with blue ink on white cardstock strip. Tie ribbon in knot and glue to card.

If you have ideas for quick card ideas using punches, we'd love to share them here on our blog. Just email a photo to us here.

Update

2009-02-18T22:46:00.007-05:00

We have more information to share with you regarding Sharon Laakkonen's upcoming classes on Saturday, March 28. In the morning she will show us how to create a beautiful acrylic album using journaling notes, some of the lovely Prima felt and gems. In the afternoon we'll get to try one of Prima's coolest new products, stitched mulberry paper. If you've not seen it, just imagine high quality mulberry paper screen-printed with a beautiful design, then machine stitched to accent. The texture is just amazing! We'll create a page with one, then you'll receive another sheet to take home. Prima has just released 12 different designs of this paper. To give you an idea of what the paper is like, here's a sample (these may not be the exact ones Sharon brings for us, but regardless, all 12 designs are simply gorgeous!)

We also want to share a couple more sneak peeks of the Basic Grey album class this Saturday, February 21. The book features "chocolate" colored chipboard pages in different shapes and has chipboard charms attached to one of the binding rings. Fun!

Save the date

2009-02-11T22:57:00.005-05:00

Don't forget to mark your calendar for Saturday, March 28. Starting at 10:00 a.m., we are so fortunate to have the amazing Sharon Laakkonen joining us to teach two projects. One is a mini book, the other is a two-page layout. Both projects will use all Prima products. Sharon is currently the design team coordinator for Prima, the company that brings us those wonderful flowers we love so much! Be sure to check out the Prima blog to see many of Sharon's beautiful projects. Sharon is regularly published in scrapbook magazines including Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers and Scrapbooks, Etc. Check out this article from Memory Makers Magazine featuring scrapbook layouts by Sharon and each of her lovely daughters. (Creativity definitely runs in the family and daughter Brittany is a Creating Keepsakes Hall of Famer!)You may recall Sharon very recently shared her talents with us when she donated this gorgeous mini book for the Crop for the Cure Silent Auction.
Space is limited, so please contact us soon to assure your spot!

Weekend Inspiration

2009-02-08T13:45:00.006-05:00

Here's a layout we created using our newest papers from Fancy Pants Designs. Don't you just love the bright colors in these papers? Notice the journaling is done on the outer edges of the layout using the cute doodled frame as our journaling line. Try journaling this way... it's fun and doesn't leave you trying to figure out where your journaling block needs to be.

Here's a closeup of the title area:

Have you tried the papers from Heidi Swapp that have the "bonus" die cuts attached? Here we used the papers and die cuts along with one of the Heidi Swapp transparencies. We also used sheer ribbon along the bottom of the die cuts and photo.
Just a look at some of the detail...notice we used KaiserCraft pearls on the crown of the transparency and along the side of the photo:We'd love to see what you create with these papers!

When the weather outside is frightful...

2009-02-01T18:05:00.011-05:00

...it's a great time to stay inside and scrapbook! Hope you all weathered the recent snow and ice storms; wasn't it the perfect opportunity to scrap the day away?!

Here's a little project we wanted to share with you. Heidi Swapp always provides lots of unique products and her new mirror album and embellishments are no exception. The album is a mirrored front with a hard chipboard back. The inside contents are up to you! For our cover, we used glittered chipboard letters, a mirrored butterfly, and crystals from Prima.

Here's a look at one of the inside pages:

To create the weathered look of the "My Girl" title, we used a Ranger ink blending tool. If you love the look of inking with the infamous "cat's eye" shaped ink pads, you'll be in love with this tool. The foam applicator attaches to the bottom with velcro. The foam is specially formulated to resist ink so it is applied to your project rather than absorbed into the foam. It is great for creating muted ink tones on your papers as well as for inking the edge. Another plus for this little tool is it allows you to utilize all your larger ink pads for ink distressing... perfect for when you have a large ink pad in the "perfect color" for your project. (The applicator can also be used with felt strips rather than foam. The felt is used for applying adirondack inks... this allows you to add color to metal embellishments. Very cool technique!) The title letters are from a stamp set, also by Heidi Swapp.

We also want to share some sneak peeks of a couple of upcoming classes. Join us on February 5 to create Valentine cards for those special ones in your life. We'll be making eight cards using the new line of Basic Grey papers.
Also be sure to join us on February 21st to create this chocolate chipboard minibook. The book features pages of many different shapes and sizes; we'll be using Bella Boulevard papers and embellishments.

Good vs. Great

2009-01-17T22:43:00.019-05:00

Ready to take your photos to the next level? Have you ever heard someone look at a photo and say "She must have a really good camera"? We want to share a few photo tips with you that will help you take good photos and make them great. And all of these are ones you can use without having an expensive camera!

The photo below is a "good" photo taken one evening at the beach. How can this photo go from "good" to GREAT?

Change your perspective...

Did you know having your subject look up at you minimizes any double chin effect? (I always remember this when someone is taking a photo of ME...ha!) See how much different this photo is just by taking it from a different angle?Put your subject in the best light...

Both of the above photos were taken an hour before sunset. But in the second photo, her face seems to almost glow. Have you ever noticed in the evenings how everything outside seems to be bathed in a golden glow? At this time of day, the sun is low in the sky and acts similar to a big gold reflector like the professional photographers use. The light isn't too bright but instead hits the left side of her face more to create shadows. It also reflects in her eyes. If you're trying to capture this golden glow, remember to turn off your camera's flash.

Hmm...what else can you do to improve a photo even more?....

Add a tilt...

If you look at photos in magazines or today's senior portrait photographer displays, many of them have the subject tilted to one side or another. Try it! Rather than holding your camera with a horizontal or vertical orientation, just tilt it slightly to the left or right. You'll be surprised at how much more dynamic your photo can be. And at first, it does feel a little strange... but the results are worth it!

Give these ideas a try and let us know how they work for you!

Lots to share with you!

2009-01-09T22:36:00.011-05:00

We're very excited to have Sharon Laakkonen, design team coordinator for Prima Marketing joining us on Saturday, March 28. You may have seen Sharon's work in many scrapbook magazines including Creating Keepsakes or in advertisements for the lovely Prima flowers we love so much! Or maybe you saw the stunning acrylic album she created for the Crop for the Cure Silent Auction. Sharon's morning class will be a two-page layout. In the afternoon, she will guide us in creating a mini album. Both projects will use all Prima products and are sure to be amazing! Those who register for both classes will save $5 plus enjoy a free lunch. Space is limited so be sure to sign-up soon to assure your spot!

What a better way to start the new year than to create a cute desktop calendar?! With chipboard tabbed pages and a sturdy acrylic base, this Maya Road desk calendar is fun and easy to create. Since it can be viewed from both sides, you can create this as a multipurpose project--one side of each tabbed page as a calendar and the opposite side for showing off your favorite photos. Its size makes it a great way to use up those paper scraps you've been saving.

January-Paper & Glitter Chipboard: Melissa Frances, Calendar Grid: Teresa Collins, Flowers: Prima, "January" stamp: Pink Paislee, Pearls: Kaiser Craft, buttons, pom trim

Also don't forget to join us on January 31st from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for our Winter Mega Crop and Garage Sale to be held at St. Mark's United Methodist Church. It will be a great way to spend time with friends while forgetting about the cold weather outside. And if you've been looking to reorganize and purge some of your "scrapbook stash," please contact us for more information on how you can be part of the Garage Sale that day. Whether you're buying, selling, scrapping, or all three... it is sure to be a fun day!

Welcome 2009!

2009-01-03T00:49:00.005-05:00

Hope your 2009 is filled with lots of good cheer and happy memories!

You may have noticed we are having some technical difficulties with our main website. When you view our web address, another site appears. We are working to rectify this as quickly as possible. Until then, please check here at our blog for updates on all the fun things we have planned to get us through the cold winter months.

First, mark your calendars for January 31st--it's our annual Mega Crop and Garage Sale. The event will be held at St. Mark's United Methodist Church from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. The cost is only $40 and will include a goodie bag, home cooked meals, great prizes and a discount coupon good for that day at Bloomin' Scrapbooks. AND... if one of your New Year's Resolutions is to organize your scrap space and purge some of the items you no longer use, plan to sell them at the Garage Sale going on during the Mega Crop! For details on how to participate in the Garage Sale and the Mega Crop, please contact us.

Below are some of our upcoming classes:

January 6, 6-8 p.m.
ATC Swap--Cost=FREE!
This month's theme is "New Beginnings." Plan to join us for fun trading and creating these cute cards to swap with friends from BS&S.

January 8, 6-8 p.m.
CHRISTMAS PAGES--$12
Ready to scrapbook those Christmas memories? Join Mary Williams to create a two page Christmas themed layout using lots of ribbons.

January 10, 10a.m.-Noon
NEED 'EM NOW CARDS--$15
In this class we'll create 6 cards with envelopes for whenever you need a handmade card in a pinch. The cards will include two Thank You cards, two Sympathy and two birthday cards.

January 17, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
RECYCLED CEREAL BOX--$12
We've invited Cassidy Young to share this cool recycled cereal box with us. Cassidy made all her Christmas gifts this year using recycled items! We will provide all cereal boxes for the class. This is such a unique idea, you won't want to miss it!!

January 22, 6-8 p.m.
HERITAGE PAGES--$12
Create this stunning two-page layout perfect for your heritage photos. We'll be using beautiful Melissa Frances embellishments, flowers and lace for a timeless vintage look. Below is a peek:

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-25T22:11:00.005-05:00

We hope you and yours are having a wonderful holiday and creating many cherished memories! And for when you're ready to scrap the photos from the season, remember stop in this week for our huge sale where all papers are 33% off.

If you have family gatherings still scheduled for the weekend, here's an idea for a quick Christmas ornament or creative gift tag using a Pink Paislee topsider, a tag from the Melissa Frances Christmas tag set and a few jewels. You can create this easily in 20 minutes or less!

"Recycled" Snowman

2008-12-22T00:01:00.012-05:00

Looking for ways to make your scrapbook supplies go farther... or maybe looking for ways to be more "green" and recycle whenever you can? Well this winter fellow may be just the guy you're looking for! We've seen these cute snowmen on various blogs and internet galleries so we wanted to show you the steps to make one of your own. You'll be surprised at how quick and easy it is!

Start out with an empty Prima flower bottle. The Prima flower containers come in so many cute shapes and sizes, any of them will make a great "body."

Remove the Prima sticker from the Prima bottle.

Next, trace the shape of the jar lid onto a stryofoam ball. Use a craft knife to cut out a space to insert the lid, being careful not to cut yourself.

Using a strong liquid adhesive such as Crafter's Pick, glue the Prima bottle lid into the niche you created in the stryofoam ball. Coat the stryofoam ball with the same liquid glue or a decoupage medium (e.g. Mod Podge), then sprinkle the stryofoam ball with white glitter.

Fill the base with festive items. We used a holly sprig and some tinsel. You could also use jingle bells, marbles, beads, Prima Christmas flowers, a photo or whatever you decide!

Next create your jolly fellow's face. We used buttons for eyes, a snip of the holly sprig for the nose and created the dots for the smile with a black marker. You could also use brads, eyelets or beads. Of course, every snowman needs rosy cheeks, so blush those in with a touch of pinkish ink.Make a cone from scrapbook paper for the hat. We used wintery silver patterned paper from Pink Paislee. Glue the cone to stryofoam head. Trim with ribbon or lace. You can also attach a pom from a snip of pom pom trim at the top. Add a ribbon scarf and adorn it with whatever you wish. We used a Melissa Frances glittered chipboard snowflake layered with a Prima flower and a jewel brad. You could also use rub-ons to decorate the outside of the bottle with swirls, a festive phrase or even some snowflakes. If you make one of these, remember to take a photo and email it to us. We'd love to see what you come up with and you may find your own friendly snowman featured on our blog!

Be sure to stop by again soon. We've got more last minute Christmas ideas for you including a quick and easy ornament as well as some ideas for gift card holders.

Home for the Holidays

2008-12-20T10:48:00.005-05:00

There's nothing like home for the holidays and these little houses are sure to get you into the Christmas spirit.

Here's a cute gingerbread house mini album created by design team member Mary Williams. This was for a recent class we hosted, but if you weren't able to attend we still have gingerbread house albums available.

This little house is created from a Melissa Frances vintage colonial house kit. These make great home decor accents or you could attach a string or ribbon to create a unique Christmas ornament. Be sure to add lots of glitter for a wintery look!

Countdown to Christmas---photo checklist

2008-12-20T02:15:00.007-05:00

Wow, where does the time go... less than a week until Christmas! Be sure to stop by the blog this week as you take a break from your Christmas preparations. We've got some "last minute" ideas for you... so let's get started!

As we all know, Christmas is a perfect time to take lots of photos that can be used in our scrapbooks all year long. Here are a few ideas of the shots you may want to include in your "must haves" this year:

Group photo in front of Christmas tree--you might be amazed at how much styles, family members and even the tree change over time. At the time this photo was taken, it was "just another Christmas tree photo" but now it is a cherished memory.

Photo of someone opening the "perfect gift" to document the reaction

Christmas tree ornaments with special meaning--you can later use the photos to create a layout so future generations who receive them will know their story

We spend so much time preparing special dinners and desserts...be sure to photograph them. I love a photo of my Great Grandmother's Christmas dinner table. I couldn't believe how much food she had prepared! You could later create a special Christmas recipe mini book to share your favorite holiday recipes with others. Or maybe create a book to house recipes you've gathered from family and friends during the holiday pitch-in dinners.

Traditions--whatever they may be, take pictures of them! Traditions may change over time and you'll cherish photos of them later.

Photos of lights--turn off your camera flash and take photos of your lighted tree or your outside light displays at night. You may need to set your camera on a flat surface or tripod to avoid blurred or shaky photos, but the results will be amazing.

Special gifts from children or grandchildren--you'll want to remember the special gift wrapping skills of children as they plan special Christmas surprises for you. Don't forget to take photos of these treasures before you open them...like this example of a gift wrapped in cardstock and ribbon found in "mommy's" scrapbook stash! (This photo also shows the look that can be achieved when turning off your camera's flash.)

Do you have other ideas to share? If so, please post a comment and share your Christmas photo tips with us!

And the final total is...

2008-12-09T22:05:00.007-05:00

...$9,107!!!

Yes, $9,107 is the amount raised for our local Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at this year's Crop for the Cure. Wow! We again express sincere thanks to everyone for their generosity in making this year's Crop for the Cure a huge success!!

Sharon Follendorf, owner of Bloomin' Scrapbooks & Stamps, presents Gwen Hicks of the Susan G. Komen Foundation with $9,107 raised during this year's Crop for the Cure.

Flower Challenge Winner!

2008-12-02T22:02:00.006-05:00

Congratulations to Beth Marohn for being our flower technique challenge winner! Beth submitted these beautiful and creative ideas for new ways to use flowers.

On her layout "Blue-min Memories" (yes, we LOVE the title!) Beth stamped stems on her page then used a variety of flowers to highlight her gorgeous flower photos. Notice the flower in the lower left is folded into a bud and accented with a found earring as the base. Just beautiful!

For this project, Beth added tied floss around a die cut flower center for a funky fringe look.
Here Beth used Prima flowers to create butterflies for a mini album project. Beth tells us "On this page from my tinkerbell mini-album I made the butterflies by cutting out one petal of a basic Prima flower & then adding stickles around the other two sets to create "wings" of a butterfly & adding a second one on top for added dimension, then more stickles for the antennae." Stunning!

Thanks again Beth for the wonderful inspiration!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2008-11-30T21:17:00.006-05:00

Here at Bloomin' Scrapbooks, it's really looking a lot like Christmas! We've got lots of Christmas projects on display and stop in to shop our large selection of Christmas stamps, papers and fun holiday embellishments. We wanted to share some peeks of a class we're having this Thursday, December 4 at 6:00. Join us to make this amazing Basic Grey chocolate chipboard Christmas album. This beautiful project would be great to display your Christmas photos from past years. Or you could give it as a gift (and be sure to tell the lucky recipient you made it yourself!) Hope you can join us!

Jumpstart your journaling...Thanksgiving ideas

2008-11-18T22:48:00.006-05:00

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, many of us are in the mood to make Thanksgiving related scrapbook pages and mini books. Here are some journaling ideas to help you add that "something more" to your scrapbooks and make them even more cherished by future generations.

•Count your blessings—just like the song says, make a page about all your blessings and “count them one by one.” This is a great way to use number stamps or stickers too! Possible page themes could be “10 Blessings of Today”, “101 Reasons I’m Blessed”, “5 Things I’m Thankful for Today.” You could even use an excerpt from the song itself on your layout. Below is the cover of a mini-book outlining “50 Years of Blessings” for a 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

•Traditions-Create a layout that highlights some of your ongoing Thanksgiving traditions. Do you always serve a certain dish? Is there someone who is always in charge of the turkey? Do you never have turkey? Is Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and football always on TV at your house? How have your traditions changed over the years? Do you ever eat out? How has Thanksgiving changed as your family has changed? Just think of how future generations will enjoy learning what traditions you celebrated that were unknowingly passed on to them. Wouldn't you love to know how your Great Great Grandmother prepared for Thanksgiving?!

•Recipes--Do you or a family member have a special recipe you only bring out at Thanksgiving? Or some special dessert that your family simply loves? Create a layout about it! Handwrite the recipe. Take photos of it when it's done. If it's something a family member makes, scan their copy of the recipe and/or include a photo of them holding or serving it. Here's an example...my grandma makes the best homemade noodles in the world! At holidays, she always makes them because she knows how much I love them. Even though she has many grandchildren, it's something I know she does to make me feel special (just like she does other things to make my cousins feel special too!) She has no recipe and when asked how to make them, her reply is always "Come over sometime and I'll show you." How special it would be to document this all in a layout, complete with photos of her, the noodles and the step by step photos of how she makes them...since after all she has no recipe!

•Black Friday--What Thanksgiving related scrapbooking would be complete without some reference to that most unbelievable shopping day of the year?! Create a layout documenting how you "observe" Black Friday. Are you one that gets all your Christmas shopping done that day? Are you up at 5:00 a.m. hitting all the best sales? Are you one that avoids stores like the plague that day? Do you do most of your shopping on-line? If you do lots of shopping that day, consider taking your camera along and take photos at your various stops. Won't it be interesting in future years to see the stores that you visited? The kinds of things that were on your Christmas shopping list? Maybe some photos of the latest must-have toys or clothes? Imagine you had created a layout like that back in the 70s or 80s! Something like this: "Our first Christmas shopping stop was at College Mall. Mom went into Lazarus and L.S. Ayres while I kept Sabrina occupied throwing pennies in the fountain. Our luckiest find of the day was getting the last Cabbage Patch doll Sears had in the store. After lunch at MCL Cafeteria, we stopped at Hill's Department store for more shopping. We found the new Rick Springfield album there. They even had a few Compact Discs in the music section, although I'm not sure how those work. We didn't spend much time looking at those since the players for them are over $400! December 1981."

If you have ideas of other great journaling prompts for Thanksgiving, please post a comment and share your inspiration.

Also, don't forget to send us photos for the Flower Technique Challenge below for your discoveries of new and unique ways to incorporate flowers in your projects. The lucky winner will receive a package of flowers along with a page kit. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Thank you!

2008-11-13T22:52:00.010-05:00

Saturday was such an awesome day, we hope everyone who attended had as much fun as we did! We sincerely want to thank each participant, those who placed bids during the silent auction, generous souls who donated items to be auctioned, the vendors who donated door prizes, Sherwood Oaks Christian Church for the spacious room and the many restaurants that provided food. What a fun way to raise funds for such a worthy cause!

Some highlights of our day were...

The First Annual Altered Bra Contest
Our winner, Lori Clendenning,educated us on "What kind of bees make milk? Boo-bees! Ha!" Lori won a weekend at Bear Scrap Retreat.

This bra had both stars and moon that lit up!

A bra to lift up a friend currently facing breast cancer...

To see the rest of the altered bras, please scroll down to the Slide photo show in the previous post. Thanks to all who entered!

We had good times with friends...

And we were especially thankful for the breast cancer survivors who joined us!

Again, a big THANK YOU to all who made the Crop for the Cure a huge success!

What an amazing day!

2008-11-10T23:23:00.002-05:00

More Crop for the Cure Goodies and Upcoming Classes

2008-11-05T19:34:00.021-05:00

Only three more days! Hope you are as excited as we are! Just wanted to show you some additional silent auction items. Remember, you can enter bids on these items prior to Saturday if you will be unable to join us. We'll have a Quickutz Revolution tool as well as a Quickutz Lemonade alphabet.

Freedom Business Solutions has very generously donated a HP Printer for the silent auction--perfect for a Christmas gift or printing your own custom sized photos at home.

Other silent auction items include this beautiful acrylic made by Prima designer Sharon Laakkonen:

This box designed by Creating Keepsakes Hall of Famer and Memory Makers Master Greta Hammond:

A Christmas album created by one of our own design team members:

Don't forget... each participant will recieve a ticket and door prizes will be given out during the day. Door prizes include stamps, Martha Stewart punches, paper flowers from prima, cool totes, embellishments, paper packs and more!

We also wanted to give you some close up sneak peeks of some of our upcoming classes. This Thursday, November 6, join design team member Mary Williams to create this amazing fall layout. Mary's style always includes lots of detail and cool techniques, so you won't want to miss it!

And on November 22, design team member Debbie Ridlen will help you create this unique Advent calendar. It is approximately 8 x 8" in size and has little drawers for you to hide small gifts as you count down the days until Christmas. Here are the "before and after" photos:

Technique Challenge!

2008-11-02T13:19:00.006-05:00

We thought it would be fun to host a technique challenge here on our blog. Have you ever seen something in a display or in a magazine and thought, "Why didn't I think of that?!" Since it's always exciting to discover new ways to use our supplies, we want to challenge you to find new ways to use FLOWERS on your scrapbook pages, cards or projects. Just email a photo of your project to us at info@bloominscrapbooks.com by December 1. Who knows, you may find your project featured here on the Bloomin' Blog! We will randomly choose a winner from the entries... the winner will receive a layout kit with enough supplies to create a two-page scrapbook layout (similar to those we feature in the "mystery kit" contest each month). Can't wait to see your projects!

To get us started, here are a few ideas:

Try cutting white flowers in half, then ink them using two different colors of inks. Here we used both red and brown for a vintage look. Arrange them to peek out from behind a photo mat. This same technique would also work behind a journaling mat or behind a title mat on a card.
Use flowers as is on your page or card, but cover them glitter, Stickles glitter glue or paint to give them something "extra." This is also a great way to use those colors of flowers you wouldn't typically use otherwise... just change the color to match your project. Here is an example of a painted flower:

And who said a flower has to be a flower?! Here a flower punch was used, then the flower was cut in half to make legs for this Halloween spider.

Ready for a weekend retreat?

2008-10-30T22:26:00.010-04:00

Just wanted to share some of the weekend scrapbooking and stamping retreats that will be given away at the Crop for the Cure. We mentioned in our last update that the person who collects the most pledges will receive a free retreat to Cornerstone Memories in Tipton. We will also be giving away retreats to the winner of our altered bra contest, our page contest, as well as the winner of the raffle currently being held in the store. Retreat locations include Bear Scrap Retreat near Cincinnati (two retreats!) , the Creative Hideway in Frankfort, and A Crop for All Seasons in Norwolk, Ohio. Imagine a relaxing weekend away with nothing to do but scrap, stamp, sleep and letting someone else do all the cooking!

Just picture yourself....

...at Bear Scrap Retreat

...or maybe at The Creative Hideaway

...or Cornerstone Memories

Be sure to stop by again soon, we still have MORE Crop for the Cure surprises to show you! Very soon we will also be posting lots of neat Christmas projects, new techniques to try, photo and journaling ideas. Take care!

Less than two weeks!

2008-10-27T23:30:00.008-04:00

We're counting down the days until the Crop for the Cure! Currently we have over 50 registrations and new ones are coming in each day. If you'd like to attend, please register by November 1. For those of you who have signed up or are seriously thinking about it, we've got some more goodies to show you today!

Most of you who have registered know this is an opportunity to collect pledges for our local Susan G. Komen breast cancer affiliate. The person collecting the most pledges will receive a free scrapbooking retreat at Cornerstone Memories in Tipton, Indiana. Can't you just picture yourself cropping away in their crafting room with the fireplace, stained glass window and flatscreen TV! Or how about sitting down to a home cooked meal that you didn't have to cook yourself?! Special thanks to Cornerstone Memories for their generous donation.

We've got several other scrapbook retreats we will be giving away that day... so be sure to stop by the blog again soon for all the details.

Donation from Greta Hammond

2008-10-25T23:30:00.004-04:00

Take a look at this beautiful box donated for the Crop for the Cure silent auction. It was created and very graciously donated by the amazingly talented Greta Hammond. You have likely seen Greta's work in scrapbooking magazines and in many scrapbook manufacturer advertisements. She has been inducted into the Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame and is also a 2008 Memory Makers Master. Greta's design team work includes Fancy Pants Designs, Provo Craft, and Scenic Route Paper Company. If you are unable to attend the Crop for the Cure but would still like to bid, please email us at info@bloominscrapbooks.com. Thank you, Greta, for joining us in the fight against breast cancer!

A peek inside the Goodie Bag

2008-10-21T22:12:00.005-04:00

Just wanted to give you a little peek at one of the cool things you'll find inside your goodie bag when we see you at the Crop for the Cure on November 8. Hero Arts has very generously donated this set of five stamps for each participant! (Although we must have your registration by November 1 in order to assure you receive one.) Just imagine all the things you can do with these... add as a card greeting, create a photo border on a scrapbook page, or even stamp them vertically as flower stems. We can't wait to see how you use them!

Just three more weeks

2008-10-18T22:53:00.002-04:00

Only three more weeks until the Crop for the Cure! We hope you are getting as excited as we are. From now until then, we will be posting blog updates every few days to let you know all the fun things we have planned!

Just a reminder of the details:

When: Saturday, November 8 from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.
Where: Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, 2700 E. Rogers Rd., Bloomington IN
Cost: $50 donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure (all proceeds benefit the local Susan G. Komen affiliate)
What: 12 hours of fun! Two meals donated by local restaurants, snacks, goodie bag, a ticket for door prize drawings, discount coupon good at Bloomin Scrapbooks & Stamps, silent auction fundraiser

To reserve your spot, please register by November 1. (Registrations will be accepted after that date but please note that due to limited quantities, goodie bags for late registrants may contain substituted items.)

Crop for the Cure Silent Auction

2008-10-10T22:07:00.011-04:00

We are busy preparing for the Crop for the Cure on November 8 and hope you are making plans to join us for this very worthwhile cause. We are so excited to show you this beautiful project donated by Sharon Laakkonen for the silent auction fundraiser. You may have seen Sharon's work featured in many scrapbook magazines including Creating Keepsakes. She is a member of the Prima Marketing design team and you can see more of this amazing album on the official Prima Blog. We truly appreciate her sharing her talents with us! If you are unable to attend the Crop for the Cure but would like an opportunity to bid on this beautiful acrylic album, please email us at info@bloominscrapbooks.com. Hope to see you there!

Show us your bra!

2008-09-16T21:51:00.000-04:00

Show us your bra... your "altered bra" that is!

During this year's Crop for the Cure, we will be having an altered bra contest. The winner will receive a Scrapbook Retreat weekend! Here's how it works. Use a bra of any size, shape, color, new or used and decorate/embellish it with whatever you can think of-- flowers, beads, staples, chipboard, sewing, stamping, etc. Bring it on a hanger with you to the crop. We promise we won't ask you to model it! :-) Each cropper will cast one vote for their favorite bra. Here is a fun example we saw at the Melissa Frances booth at the CHA Summer show in Chicago. (You may be aware Melissa is a breast cancer survivor and one of her beautiful product lines has a breast cancer survivor theme.) We can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Don't forget to stop by between now and the Crop for the Cure on November 8. We'll be posting more photos of the great prizes generously donated by many of our vendors.

Welcome!

2008-09-03T23:20:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Bloomin' Blog! The gals at Bloomin' Scrapbooks are teaming up to create a place to share all kinds of fun stuff with you. From journaling ideas, photo inspiration, fun techniques using the coolest products to stamping, embossing and much more, we hope you'll find lots of creative inspiration here.

To get us started, we can't wait to show you sneak peeks of some of the AWESOME prizes and giveaways generously donated for our Crop for the Cure on November 8. Just imagine being the lucky person who gets to take this cute organizer home to fill with lots of scrapbook goodness!