From the first time I saw this "I Am" collection from Simple Stories in Shelby's class last earlier this year, I was smitten. The soft aqua mixed with first and second generation golds, coral and greens, and flashes of gold foil and outline accents in a creamy white spoke of the pleasant days of Spring to come. Now that they are here (and even more pleasant than I had hoped for to be honest), the May 2015 scrapbooking kit from EmbellishKits.com is the perfect companion to the (1000's of) photos I've been taking!
As I previewed in our kit release video for National Scrapbooking Day earlier this month, this collection also offers a die cut pack with nearly 100 Bits and Pieces in it- limitless possibilities there! You could use a few of these to highlight your embellishment clusters, spell out a title, or even become the focal point of a page or card. Shelby also included black twine, aqua ribbon, and sheets of rich Bazzill cardstock that perfectly coordinate with the colors in this collection. I loved these papers so much, that when I saw some additional sheets being sold at the Scrapbook Expo a few weeks ago, I just had to grab them! Instant gratification and all that... you can find order more from Simple Stories through embellishonline.com though :-)
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| Can't cut this couple apart card. |
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| Cut Apart Collage |
Cut apart sheets are papers that I sometimes avoid buying because I don't always know what to do with them! Maybe not so much
avoid buying, but more along the lines of,
easier to say no to lol. I love getting kits like this, that include ideas for how to use products I love but haven't been inspired enough to experiment with. Sometimes we just need a little practice project, no?
One of my bonus cards from this kit is this wedding card, where I stacked those cards behind a cute cartoon sticker of a couple exchanging a loving glance. The anchor and suitcase cards made me think of "honeymoon," and by wrapping some of that aqua ribbon around the grey polka dot square, it becomes a wedding present! Even the two heart cards which had been cut down too far to show as full sized hearts got included. No one can see behind to see what isn't there lol.
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| May 2015 Scrapbooking Kit Preview tutorial layout on the left |
I love how this two page layout came together- made separately, they feature two very distinct styles, and yet because the pieces are all coordinated, it comes together beautifully. A grid pattern for my four by four photo collages on the left also includes ten of those 2x2 inch cut apart squares, while my four by six photos get my favorite free for all treatment - a color block background for each photo and lots of layered die cuts to spell out a long title. On each page I also opted to follow the full color examples provided by including two of the pocket folders included in this month's kit. One is just for looks, but I did journal a tiny bit about my girls current accomplishments on the other.
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| If I had a flower for every time I thought of you... |
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| I do love me some shine! |
Look at how I used this flower filled basketed bicycle die cut, and the "so thankful" banner to spruce up the front of this card. Of course I had to add in a handful of my favorite blings from Queen & Co., too! I still have a few pieces that I can create more cards with, but frankly, with so much card making going on around here, the times when I can devote my energy towards scrapbooking are now cherished moments, so took this opportunity to add to my albums instead of my store front card racks.
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| I am... an artist |
Scrapbooking as an art form has become such an important storytelling tool for me; it has allowed me to explore memories that I fondly look back on from the perspective of motherhood,
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| I am...thankful |
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| I am...loving life |
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| I am... one of many |
highlight relationships that mean the world to me, and well, when you have cute kids you've got to do
something with all those photos! Putting pretty papers together with pictures I enjoy and then finding litte add-on's to enhance my page is a very creative process, and one I absolutely think of as essential in my personal quest to avoid card-makers burnout lol.
Thank you for joining us for our first layout share post, using the May 2015 scrapbooking kit from EmbellishKits.com
Be sure to click on the purple social media icons to the right of this post to follow my channel on YouTube, catch my latest instagram posts and Surivor fan-atic tweets, or to take a stroll through my etsy shop... your comments are always welcome below, too!
I'd love to hear your current "I am...," or about what scrapbooking or card making means to you, or maybe you want to share about how you feel about gold foil? Lol, whatever your weekend brings, I hope it includes a bit of bling!
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