Author: Carrie Arick

Hello lovely people! It’s Carrie here and I’m having a love hate relationship with spring: Love the greenery, hate the pollen. I’m itchy, my nose and eyes are running constantly and I’m trying hard not sneeze all over my laptop! It’s hard to scrap or blog when you’re sneezing so much. Also, I’m medicated…but there’s only so much that can be done when you’re severely allergic to the planet Earth.  That Mars colony sounds pretty appealing right now. Instead, I’ll have to settle for distracting myself with inspiration. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Bloom Project Life Spread by azzari

I love the editorial feel of this project life style page. She’s mixed soft and bold colors, soft and bold typefaces with dramatic pops of texture and amazing images and photos. The result is a page that looks like it could have been taken from a magazine and just begs for your attention. And of course, it may look simple and effortless, but those are the hardest pages to pull off because it’s all about getting the balance right… and she did it expertly.

Darndest Things by jessicalynn01

Firstly, I LOVE all that journaling! Like the story, this page is packed with a gregarious, fun personality that’s achieved by contrasting textures (smooth and rough), contrasting color (black and white) and punchy primary colors. The cutesy embellishments keep this young, whimsical and combined with the movement of the background paper, extremely energetic! I hope this kiddo never loses his artful storytelling. 🙂 (good job mama!)

Full of delight by Arumrose 

I love the use of the border and cluster at the top and all the white space! Your eye moves effortlessly to the great focal point photo. It’s also a great example of how you can add feminine touches to a page about a boy and not have it feel overtly girly, soft and loving, yes. Girly, no. She’s given the photo a hug by layering the word on top and under it and used the embellishment to snuggle it all up. It’s an awesome visual story that supports the journaling on the page.

simple by Dalis

I just adore the black and white photo against the wood grain background. She really thought about alignment here. Notice the diagonal stripes on the top right paper block point into the photo? Thoughtful placement like that really makes a difference. The same can be said for the placement of the scatter and use of the journaling block. She’s used the Golden Ratio to present us with a solid design! And the word art breaking the borders adds that extra interest. Well done!

Punctuation by dvhoward

LOL! YES! I love this pair of sentences for teaching grammar… and she’s paired it with the right color and pattern and made good use of her blending skills for a vintage or old-timey feel. The butterflies work well here. Why? Because butterflies represent transformation and that’s exactly what this all about: transforming meaning with the use of a comma. And that comma is highlighted with the red… also, she’s played on the eating grandpa idea with the read splatter, which kinda looks like, um, blood. Such a clever way to scrap the subject!

my magnificent scooter by myla

I love how she’s played on the complimentary colors in the photos. Instead of pink, she’s pulled out the red and black to lead your eye around the page. The blue is merely hinted at with the background paper. I also love the big, wonky “T” paired with the scooter stamps. She’s also positioned her photos so the subjects faces lead you into the photos, with help from the colors and stamps. She’s finished off the page with stitching and staples for a polished look.

Great pages, everyone! I hope you have enjoyed my picks… until next time… have a scraptastic week!

 

Hello all, Carrie here, and it’s technically March 31st somewhere, right? I’ve been up to my ears in budgets this week and by the time I wrapped up last night, I was just beat. Better late than never, so here are my picks from yesterday-ish:

2 dogs by NIscrapper

Three things command your attention on this page: the active white space, the saturated colors, and the design leaking off the page. She’s playful with her clustering and positioning in the loose band, which really drives home the story. To top it off, she’s polished the page with stitches, staples and tape along with some very cool shadowing.

Beautiful Future by miimsgirl

This page balances a formal theme and whimsical energy with structured block (or pocket page) design, black and white and floral  patterns with wonky stitching, fun word art, pops of color and an amazingly energetic, candid looking photo. I appreciate how the card on the top left and the card of the top right mix the masculine and feminine (pink heart on B&W stripes and blue on a delicate floral pattern). Smart!

Puppy love by Terry

How can not love that puppy face?? This page has a strong diagonal flow, focal point and amazing texture. I love the yellows and greens  here because I feel the outdoorsy freshness of puppies! She’s also framed in the composition with the squiggly black lines. Well done!

i adore you by LCPereyra

I love the big title! The swashy stems on the “a” and “d” are perfectly placed the lead the eye to the faces in the photo. She’s also used scale quite well, balancing the big doily with those smaller flowers. And then that strip of green creating a pseudo shelf for the photo and title… Such a wonderful page!

better together by JessicaUpton

I love the strong photos with the really soft colors on this spread. She’s made each pocket a mini canvas that relates to the whole with the white, word art and touches of bling. And the vellum just makes me happy…

Our Umbrella by kim517

I just adore that she’s framed this page with the floral paper. It makes me think of warm, spring rain. The title and umbrella shape are eye-catchers. I love that bold pink and orange with the pastel blue and yellow, but nothing seems overpowering. She has created a powerful visual and sensory experience here in a powerful way.

I really didn’t mean to pick puppy and love pages consciously, but somehow it worked out that way. I hope you enjoyed my picks! Don’t forget to leave some love for these talented ladies. Now, back to math for me…

-=-=================0 <-- written by Thor the cat just for you... Carrie here. I'm finally getting over my first ear infection and hoping the last ear infection of the year. *knock on wood* It's spring and one the great things about aging is I've become allergic to the entire planet again (I lived in a sterile environment as an infant because I allergic then, too). But that's okay. I'm distracting myself with amazing BBQ and birthdays... and all the pretty pages that our amazing community created in the past 24 hours. Peep, Peep, Peeps! by Zlemon

So, I have a thing for Peeps and this page just made me laugh out loud. All the ribbon and funky title, the blending and the photo props  just add to the fun. I’m inspired to make my own page about Peeps!

 

A Fresh Start by Kacy

The pallette on this page really supports the theme, as does the butterfly and flowers. It’s such a great photo and treatment as well. I also love how she’s framed the page with the strips of paper that don’t match… and you can never have enough yellow on a page. It’s like cowbell.

 
List maker by Stefanie

Totally love the block design with all the border breaking. The blue, coral and yellow matted on the white against the kraft background is just perfect. I also love the alignment of the “do what you love” word art, too.

 

Lucky Day by Bbe

I love that she’s done her journaling in letter format and that she’s working through her feelings at the same time. It’s also a creative way to use the St. Patrick’s Day theme. I love the three sided border she’s created and the cluster the bottom… and the leprechaun is using his want on the photo of lottery tickets.

 

28 by liahra

Such a strong page and perfect design with all the active white space that’s pure white! And what a great a idea. I wish I took more photos of myself when I was her age. The photo crop is perfect and the title is simple and perfect. She finishes the page off with little bits of embellishing and paint that lets her personality change.

 

In the Kitchen by bao

Such an eye catching split composition here that really captures the action of cooking. She’s used the journaling and strip at the bottom to connect both sides of the page. I love that she kept the palette neutral to allow the saturated color in the photos and the bright orange title to pop off the page.

Now it’s time for  me to go finish the laundry for the week. I hope you’ve enjoyed my picks! Leave these artists some love on their pages… and have a great week! Until next time!!

 

Hello there! It’s Carrie. It’s a balmy evening with a cool breeze…and I find it so incredibly relaxing after a long, sorta stressful week. Thank you to Mother Nature for this sorta perfect night. And thank you digi scrappers for creating so many beautiful layouts! I did manage to whittle down my long list of lovely pages to just these half a dozen. So…here we go:

Bloom by Hollie H

This is just magical- such a great combination of primary colors with saturated tones of blue and purples! This page just tells such a great visual story it doesn’t really need a lot of words.  I love the unexpected position of the photo in the marvelously layered flower and all the blending. It’s sweet, happy and somehow delicate… and one for the wall…

 

Find Joy by My Bear

I love the stitched block composition. It’s got structure, but it’s still loose and care free. I love the contrast of the grey blended flower border with the primary geometric scatter. It’s a playful contrast that adds to the story of the page. I also love the photo treatments! Every time I look at this page, I see something new that I adore, like the doily… it’s such a simple touch, but it gives that extra something.

 

 

Confettis by sabdesbois

This is a perfectly executed minimalist page. The texture of the background paper and the photo give it so much interest. The red is such an eye-catcher… and I like that she’s used the tape to ground the design. Well done!

 

 

Red Browed Finch by Amson

This page just pops with that fresh green! I love that the she’s reversed what one would think of as background paper… and turned into a frame for the composition. The birds pop off the page against that green… I don’t know if it’s a photo treatment or blending or both, but I’m in love. And I appreciate that she’s stapled her photos down so they don’t fly away. 🙂 Notice how she’s used the lines in the photo to position the smaller photo? Awesome.

 

 

Point, Click, Perfection by JenEm

Such a wonderful use of color and motif to tell the story. The little bits are just buzzing around the photos. I also love the way she’s used the camera lens frame to focus you (pun totally intended) on the focal point. It just adds that extra oomph of dimension and interest to the page. The swooping lines of word art also drive home that motion in her story. Not to mention the photos are amazing… sigh… I love it.

 

There you have it. Leave these gals some love …and since the cool night air is making me sleepy, I am saying good night… until next time! Have a scrappy evening!

Carrie here. So, um, it’s cold. Really cold. And we did get a lot of snow Monday that has not melted a bit, which isn’t normal for our area. Now that snow has frozen into some sort of deathly, ice encrusted monstrosity. Remember when I wished for snow? This isn’t what I meant. Too cold to even play in… and one wrong step and you’ve broken your tailbone. Canada, you can have your weather back now… It’s good things these picks are HOT because now matter how hard I try, I can’t manage to stay warm today.

 

Forever and Ever by swastinadia

The caricatures with the photos pasted into the faces is really fun. She’s used the greenery at the top of the page to point you right them, while the pink hearts pull you through the page. Add in the black and white bits and the interesting becomes extraordinary. Plus, this is a perfect page for a viewfiner. Why? Because you know they’ve done cool things before and after the photo like friends do when they celebrate together.

 

A Diamond in The Rough by Anny-Libelle

There’s so much I love about the page- the color focus, the texture, the bling… It’s ornate, yet casual, thanks to the loose composition. The lines on the background paper and that torn paper layer actually control the flow of the page. Notice the way those lines meet the photo where the photo is free of embellishing? Your eye needs a way into photos and way out along with something to control the flow of the eye over the page… and she’s done that here brilliantly.

 

bontjas by Ellen

I’m currently on a big heritage kick, so I love to see how others approach heritage photos. What really blew me away here was all the modern technique mixed with vintage feeling motifs, embellishments and color. The treatment on the photo just allows it to grab your eye and when you look at those interesting textures… just wow! Plus, she has the details down in a way that harmonizes with the all the other text elements. What a keepsake!

At the Movies by dlhoffer
 

She has this almost block composition made with circular elements and rounded edges. The lenses on the projector move you into Audrey’s stunning eyes and her cigarette holder points your eye in the direction to go next.  The reel in the bottom right hand corner bounces you back up to journaling… Not to mention the palette is perfect for a story about movies- very dramatic!

 

The Becoming of Me by danesa

This is just such a cool idea. What sorta cover would a book about you have? The colors suck your right in and the title immediately leaves you feeling like you need to explore the rest of the page. The photo tells a visual story as it emerges from the background. And the orange by the eyes is a great example of reinforcing what we are naturally drawn to… This really is so amazing!

 

Best Version of You by ~Justagirl~

The palette here is subtle, but the amazing photos and black and white elements are powerful, giving a loving, but exciting feel. I love how she breaks borders (adding to the excitement) of the journaling cards in the 4×6 pockets. And the doodly stitches around the “be the best version of you” word art actually breaks into the next pocket, adding a subtle omph. She’s also mixed patterns so well, so even though the palette is subtle, the page is anything but.

 

That’s enough outta me… time for me to get under the covers! Until next time!!

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and I can assure you that Mother Nature is in no mood for love. She’s giving us the big chill currently, but I, Carrie, am not too worried because I was able to warm up with all the lovey pages all over digi land today. Let’s jump right into my picks:

Us (since 1993) by livelys

Yay, love! This is such a sweet Valentine  card. Firstly, it has oodles of pink and and the cutest flamingos framed perfectly. The big, white title outlined in black adds a great pop to the card.

 

Fifty Shades of Grey by Applechick

Not only is the title eye-catching, topical and funny, but she used the out of bounds technique in a really cool, unexpected way. And the top of the ladder leads your eye into the page. I also love the way she used the brush strokes to emphasize her story… brilliant!

 

You Currently by Ronnietexas

This layout instantly grabbed my attention. The photo is just pure awesomeness, but they way it pops against the blue paper is amazing. The other really stunning thing about this page are all the pattern papers. I *think* that the patterns work because she used a large, tone on tone pattern for the background, and in each layer the pattern gets smaller. It’s definitely one to study and lift.

 

Sunshine by elitka

I love me a great, big photo! This one is wonderful- the depth, the treatment… and with the minimal elements, the photo is the star. Kuddos for using the soft, pink leaning light for a boy photo. It doesn’t feel feminine, it feels like love. The acrylic title, it’s placement and the doodles frame the subject. Less is perfect!

 

Little Bit of Perfect tags by livelys

Another hybrid project to inspire you. I really an in awe of the space themed tag. It’s so much fun with the mix of fonts and journaling strips. I love the sequins in the stars! I think the elements breaking the borders of the tags take something wonderful into an amazing, whimsical place.

 

you are loved by Isa Marks

This one of those pages where I can’t tell if it’s hybrid or digi. Whichever it is, it is captivating when it’s paired with the pastel palette. The red border just pulls you right in. I love the bits of graphic washi tape that create a subtle foundation for the page. The garland mimics the shape of the scallops and the torn photo is just darling here. The page just oozes love… and I love that!

Hope you’ve enjoyed my picks and here’s to everyone having a fantastic, love filled weekend! See you next time…

Have you ever had one of those days where you just felt… GAH!!!!!! Yeah. That’s me today. And by me, I mean Carrie. A frazzled, hot mess of a mom. Dirty dishes piled in the sink (where did they come from??), cat tearing up every paper product he can find (why do I even have all these papers?) and a house that was clean on Sunday looks like a tornado went through it (where did that pile of dirty socks come from?). And now I have some naughty kitty action going on… so…. It is an absolute TREAT to have to stop to browse the galleries, pick some stellar pages and then share them here with you (which is why ya’ll absolutely rock!).

 Project life week 6 (left) by Arte Banale (see the right side here)

I just love this take on a Project Life page! It’s rich, yet easy on the eyes. I love the wintery colors, the photo crops and treatments, the cursive font mixed with the fun word art. There’s a lot going on, but the big, blue title just grabs you!

Salad by PLM

Never has a salad looked so interesting! This page caught my eye immediately. The watercolor effect plays perfectly into the theme. I love the dimension of the little notes and the elements.

 

be someone else’s rainbow by eve11ne

First, the background paper is a wonderful backdrop for a rainbow… but the rainbow! Not only is clustering impressive, but I love that the shape of the rainbow is completely unexpected.

 

 

True Love Story by NSmil3Anna

From a all the colors to monochromatic… I just love all the cut hearts, the softness and the brushed photo and the cluster of elements to draw you into the focal point.

 

Love Song by chocochoco

The pencil drawing is so strong, but the ombre background gives it big pop. I love the layering of the giant, neutral elements… it’s a sneaky way to create a visual triangle.

 

Pearl Harbor by anrobe

Come for the color, stay for the story… I love a heritage page that connects past and present. A dramatic photo, modern techniques and a vintage typewriter font- very close to what was used on military documents at the time- transforms this into an heirloom.

While it’s technically tomorrow here on the East Coast (thanks to kitties), I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s picks. I’ll see you next time!