Author: Juli Fish

Happy Monday!  Most people don’t like Mondays, but once I get out of bed, I love to kick butt on Monday.  There is nothing better than getting things checked off my list.  That includes scrapping, after getting all my to do’s done I love to sit down on Monday nights and scrap. It’s also my favorite day to look through galleries because I can see all the beautiful layouts posted over the weekend for inspiration.  So let’s take a look at my top 6 favorites today.

My first choice is Never Give Up by tammybean004.  The green on this is what caught my eye and made this layout pop out in the gallery right away.  There is so much going on that it’s a feast for your eyes.  I love how all these different elements, flowers and doodle are mixed together and layered on the page.  Such a wonderful mix of traditional and artsy styles.

 

My next choice is the fabulously blended page titled Early Morning by frani_54.   I just love the way the scrapper layered and blended this photo in to the background. It’s so striking!  Then the added journaling is great!  I always love a page that tells a story and that’s what this page is all about! I just love the way the scrapper tells her story. It’s almost like reading a novel with a beautiful page all around it.  Just gorgeous!

The next layout I chose is this fun layout titled We heart Newsies by pixelyyy.  First I love that this layout is grounded with a newsprint background (so fitting!). The paint is a nice buffer between the newsprint and the focal image.  Then the skyline of New York city is awesome!  Love how the title is front and center and the journaling in the heart is such a great idea.  Finally I love how the photos are added at the bottom. They really anchor the page and add nice visual appeal.

Next up is this amazing page by tracermajig titled Always Something to Explore.  I absolutely adore full photo pages and this one is so fabulous! I just love how the scrapper uses the open space at the bottom of the photo to add the title and the little banner (which is perfectly shadowed).  Then the addition of the journaling is just perfect.  I love the calming colors on the black and white photo as well.  Everything works together so beautifully!

Next up we have a page that is so warm and inviting titled Warm by IntenseMagic.  I just love the use of the bold flower paper at the top.  What a great print and it’s so warm and inviting. The next thing that caught my eye is the amazing layering in the clusters around the photo.  The shadowing gives everything great separation and these elements work together beautifully.  Finally the little bits of spatter at the bottom are perfect with the title.  Such a lovely, fall page!

My final choice for today is elevation 7901 by lizj.   I just love the mix of photos and elements on this page. There are so many things to look at!  The way the photos are layered is awesome. It helps move your eye across the page. Then the clustering of the elements it he upper right is very striking. The orange and and greens work together perfectly. Everything looks great on this pretty light woodgrain background. The perfect balance of photos, elements and white space!

Today’s layouts are amazing! I hope you’ll spend some time in the gallery today leaving a little love on your favorite layouts.

I can’t believe it’s October already and it’s almost half over to boot….time slow down please!!!  I am absolutely loving that things are starting feel a little cooler here in Florida in the mornings and the evenings.  I’m looking forward to going to the pumpkin patch this weekend, doing some yard word and maybe  some fall crafting (while sipping something pumpkin spiced.)  That’s what fall is all about, right???

I had the great pleasure of looking through the galleries to find our 6 fabulous layouts today. There are so many great pages out there.  I’m sure most of you are feeling scrapped out after the prep and then actual event of Digital Scrapbooking Day, but I hope that these pages today, and all the other great pages out there, will get you scrapping this weekend.  We need to be recording those memories because time moves so fast!!

Our first page is titled Closure by Sheana.  The warm yellow polka dot paper is what caught my eye at first.  Then the word art. I love the variety of word art, fonts and alphas used on the page.  It gives this such a great graphic feel but the wood background tones that down so it’s not “too graphic”.  All the details here play together so well.  The stitching, the ribbon, the little layered bundle…they all bring something cozy and cute to the page.  Then there is the story.  I find it so hard to put a story on a page, so I admire people who put it out there!  I love how the scrapper is telling her story about moving on and that she included a photo of herself.  I’m sure this will become such a gem over time!  I just love the composure of this page and how everything comes together and sings!

Next up I have this soothing page titled Quietude by Lynn Marie.  Now I have to point out right from the start that Lynn Marie is a digital designer and here she is using her own product for her page.  I absolutely love it when kit designers do this!  This page is fun but calming.  I love the soft colors with the punch of the mustard and the navy. It’s perfectly balanced with the white space.  The use of the paint behind the main image cluster makes this look like it’s up off the page and gives this layout depth.  All the perfectly placed circle elements really help your eye travel around the page and create the visual triangle.  I love that the scrapper added some journaling and cute photo of her feet.   Such a great composition and use of white space here!  I love it!

My next pick, just screams fall to me. You Make Me Smile by weaselwatcher has a great mix of open space and design. These rich colors can often be too much combined on the page, but here, Danica uses the tone on tone print of the brown paper to really ground and the page.  Then adding the plaid and the polka dots plus confetti brings color and visual interest.  I really love her cluster and how she stacked and shadowed the flowers and leaves looks great! It’s often tricky to shadow on darker paper without making everything feel darker and she does a great job of that here.  I have to mention this handsome cat too…how perfect is he/she with the colors of the page?  Everything here plays off each other so nicely! It’s a perfect fall page!

My next choice is a layout done during a speed scrap…gasp!  I can’t scrap fast so I’m always in awe of people who can.  Face Time by cfile is an excellent example of how you can get a page done quickly but it can still look amazing!  What caught my eye was the hot pink leaf, in the cluster at the top of the page and how lovely the shadows look on this little group of elements!   Then I saw it was for a speed scrap and I was so impressed!  Everything is so well placed on the page.  The spatter brings depth, the sequins are just enough to give interest, yet not be distracting and the washi peaking out adds feminity.  I also really like the story here.  The scrapper is scrapping about Face Timing with her brother and I think that is so cool (plus I really like that font!!).  Over all this page is not only fun, but the shadows are awesome and the memories that are recorded are also beautiful; what a great combination! 

In my world, no gallery viewing trip is complete without falling in love with at least a few pocket scrapbook style pages.  This page titled Busy Busy by Stacia Hall really caught my eye!  I love pocket style pages for trying to tell a story with lots of pictures and lots of details you want to record.  This layout shows Stacia and her family moving.  I love how her story highlights memories like the chairs looking awesome once assembled, but being very hard to put together.  That is one of those things you’ll forget in 6 months, but when you look back in your album you will be reminded and it almost makes you smile inside.  I also love that Stacia included a card showing the schedule -which is just a list of all things they accomplished in this weekend.   Now I have to say that the plaid card in the second row with all the tags and banners is my fave.  It’s fun and I love all the little comments.  Overall this is such a great page and it really documents this weekend in such a nice way (so much info on just one page) and it makes me want to sit down right now and scrap pocket style!

My final highlight for today is this sweet page titled I Love You by LorieM.  I once again was sucked in by the polka dots!  I just love the black and white polka dot paper as the background here.  It really makes everything else on the page pop.  I love how the scrapper used a shaped mask for the photo instead of the traditional square or rectangle shape. This adds such nice interest to the page!  Then the flowers – wow!! I just love the shadow work here and how the flowers seem to be floating on the page – just a pretty look and the colors are so perfect on the darker background.  It makes the whole layout pop!

Well today’s mix of layouts has be wanting to scrap right now and probably all weekend (so much for my landscaping projects).  I hope you all have a great day out there and are inspired to scrap some memories of your own.

 

Happy Saturday everyone!  Here it is the last weekend of summer and my family spent the day on the boat and enjoying the beach.  The perfect way to unwind after a long week of post Hurricane Irma drama.  My heart goes out to all those affected by the storm and especially those that still don’t have power! Today I found some fabulous layouts that give us a hint that Fall is just around the corner…I personally cannot wait for cooler weather!!  On to today’s picks….

The first layout I’m highlighting is ps i love you by scrappurple.  There is so much on this layout to love!  I was first drawn in to the fabulous title work. I just love the cut out paper with the wire words over it. So creative!  I also really love the choice of the papers for the stitched squares.  All those colors look amazing with the black and white photo.  The little pop of teal in the flower and around the page really stands out.  I just love how this all pulled together. What a gorgeous page!

Next up is Back In The Routine by Dalis.  I really love the use of the white space on this layout. It helps you focus in on the perfect little photo, element combo that Dalis has created.  I love the perspective of the photo and how well it goes with the journaling.  They work together beautifully to tell the story.  The elements are purposeful and are just right to help tell the story and accent the photo.  The shadows are spot on and make everything look just like it’s sitting there on a piece of paper – so well done!  Finally I love the little pop of yellow and blue in the background. It goes perfect with her daughter’s jersey.  What a great everyday and slice of life layout!

This next layout by marijke titled Go for a walk is beautiful representation of how to use a huge photo to create a beautiful page.  She created this for a lens flare challenge.  I love the overlays she used here to make this look so amazing. I also love the title across the top.  This page is simple, but it’s perfect in every way!

EllenT’s layout Sweater Weather highlights that Fall is on it’s way!  I love her use of photos with non-traditional angles. Up close photos of things that make you feel like Fall.  This mixed with her fabulous cluster of flowers and ric rac really centers the page.  I love the use of the crazy stitching and the ink spatter to make this feel a little more fun. Finally the amazing title work.  I love how she used the word art to create such a fun look!

Another Fall themed layout caught my eye, 2012 Autumn Alex and Conner by lowan is a lovely mix of fall and fun.  I love the playfulness of the background paper and the fox images. So cute!  Then the adorable photos; these kids looks like they are having so much fun!  Everything comes together beautifully with the amazing clusters.  The layered papers at the bottom really anchor the page. This is such a well put together page! I love every little detail!

My final pick for today is a little good bye to summer called Island House by Beatricemi . The gorgeous blue color is what first caught my eye.  I love all the different things going on in this layout! The fun shapes in the background help move your eye around the page.  Then the word strips to help tell the story.  I love that the scrapper mixed in a journal card and a little cluster and even a banner, yet the sizing is perfect to keep this feeling clean. The grouping and placement of the title is awesome – love the look of this and it’s something I’mo going to have to try myself. What a soothing looking page!

I hope you enjoyed my choices for today!  I hope everyone enjoys these last few official days of summer, but honestly aren’t we all excited that Fall is coming??? I think so!

 

It’s time to wrap up Labor Day weekend festivities and get ready for another week of work and school at my house.  I know many of you in the US have kids starting school tomorrow and this weekend signaled the end of summer.  It’s a season of change we’re in right now and I don’t know about all of you, but I’m super excited to be welcoming in fall.  Soon enough there will be layouts about pumpkins, and leaves and rich colors. For now, the layouts in the galleries are still showing all the fun people had on vacation and this little bit of extra time (with kids in school) has let many of you have more time to scrap.   I love spending time seeing what my fellow scrappers are up to in their own creative minds.  I hope today’s layouts will inspire you to get some scrapping done this week too!

My first pick is a primarily black and white layout titled Be Bold by cinderella.  In the comments for this layout the scrapper says that she was participating in a monochromatic challenge and I have to say she did a fabulous job!  This black and white page jumped out of the gallery at me with all the graphic images mixed with the stripes and the newsprint.  It’s like all my favorite scrap things wrapped up in to one nice layout.  I really like the way the message is at the middle of the page. Even though this page is graphic, the scrapper still put a cute photo on it and the tiny pop of red in the crown is so cute!  I really like how the wash of black makes all the other black and white doodles look balanced.  What a great monochromatic page!

Next up is this adorable page by robinsasmai titled Boy’s Best Friend.  What caught my eye right away was the angle of the main photo and the smaller photo.  I love that the photographer is taking the picture from up above.  It really gives this an interesting perspective.   The black and white really stands out well with the purple and blue flowers as well.  I love these clusters and the little details like the rope, the butterflies and the bits of spatter. Everything works together nicely to compliment and accent the photo.

My next pick as a totally different feel.  Long for NYC by Breeoxd is a spectacular display of what I call mixed media style art journaling (okay, so a totally made up scrapbook category, but it works for me).  Your eye can go all over the pages and find something new at each pass because there is so much going on here…but it all works together beautifully.  In fact, the amount of things going on all at once pretty much fits the idea of New York City to a tee.  I like the use of the border in select areas to bring your eye back in to the middle. The middle cluster with the title, the spats of yellow and the one red spot really captures your eye.  The the face to the bottom right really makes is mix together beautifully.  I just love this type of layout and this particular one is so well done with all the blending and mixing of doodles and more traditional scrap pieces.  So nicely done!

Up next I have a layout that is a little bit hybrid – a mix of pocket scrapping with traditional scrapping.  Swing & Slide by Deekaa really captured my eye with the large title at the top and the fun angled photo. I like how she mixed in clean photos with no matting or frames and then to be playful some ink spatters.  Finally, there is a great story at the bottom, which is so perfect.  I love everything from these bright colors to the nice use of black in the title for some contrast and even how she worked in some fun word art.  A perfectly balanced page!

Next up is this fun Backyard Oasis layout by Jerilie.  I just love the dark patterned background paper mixed with all the bright colored flowers.  The flowers look as if they are floating across the page and really bring your eye in to the photo.  I also love the use of sized down journal card and the mandala stamps to add some color on the dark background. This page has such a nice feel to it and it makes me want to go outside and have a little sunset fun myself!

My final layout choice for today is Bear @ the beach by AmandaJ.  The white background with the hand cut looking rectangles had me giving this layout a second take.  I really thought that this might be a paper layout until I saw this was made with a template – you had me fooled!  I really like how the story is told here in both photos and in journaling. Something about this textured white background paper really makes the whole thing pop.  The journaling in the typewriter font down the right side looks awesome and the photos mix so nicely with the patterned paper the scrapper chose.  This is so well done and I just love this look for a page!

Well I hope you enjoyed my picks today and that you found something in one of these amazing layouts that inspires you to do a little scrapping some time soon.  Have a great first week of September everyone!

I can’t believe this is really the last day of August already.  Time sure does fly by quickly as you get older and more busy.  At our house we just got done celebrating my husband’s birthday and now we’re in to the family’s favorite time of year – college football season.  While my husband and my daughter will sit and watch football on TV all day every Saturday (from noon to midnight, literally) I will now have plenty of scrapping time. Woo hoo!!!

Today I have a some great pages for you.  It’s apparent in most of the pages I saw in the gallery that kids are going back to school and that summer pages will starting to become Fall pages….my favorite time of the year.  So let’s see what awesome pages I have to highlight today.

My first page is this fun looking Back To School layout by Ozegirl. I just love all the attention to detail in this layout! From the stacked background papers to the blending of the text and then the little notebook.  So cute!  I just love the addition of the pencils too.  The notebook really caught my eye. The little plastic inserts look almost real and I love how she has inserted little word arts and journaling along with photos.  This notebook look is just awesome and I think this is a technique I’m going to have to try for myself.  I feel inspired by this page to try something new!

 

This next layout speaks to the inner me.  AGED TO PERFECTION by sbpoet is a gorgeous art journaling style page.  I just love the mixture of the color with the neutral backgrounds.  The repeated image of the woman keeps your eye moving down the page.  The stapled top page with the main message really draws your eye in to the message.  The message of life not being how many years you’ve live but what you’ve experienced really rings true with me and reminds me to think a different way about birthdays and life.  What an striking and meaningful page!

 

Our third layout I’m featuring today is the beauty by mrsashbaugh titled Joyful.  I love this large focal black and white photo how it’s framed with lots and lots of layered and stitched papers.  Then the clusters; they are fabulous with the shadows and I love how the scrapper worked in the little kitty and the flair with some tied string. Such a nice balance!  Then the repeated photo at the bottom, but in color.  Such a pretty little girl and what a sweet photo.  I really love how the products fill the page but don’t make it feel to overwhelming.  Such a colorful and interesting page!

 

My next pick has a different feel entirely,  Engineer by Heather H has such gorgeous blending and and a feel of open space.  However, when you look around the background the whole thing is blended with papers, spatters, words and more, but it’s soft and subtle and feels light.  What really stands out to me in this whole layout is how the scrapper put the dark ship with the lighter boat just to the left of the photo.  The lighting here is so striking and really draws in your eye. Then incorporating a vintage photo really tells the whole story of the page.  I just love how this all works together beautifully!

 

My next pick also has some nice soft colors and it fits the page theme so perfectly!  BeYouTiful by Conniemiles is so beautiful indeed!  I love the dimension that her shadowing gives to the flower clusters.  Also, the little lace details sticking out from behind the layered papers is a very sweet touch that adds to the femininity of the page.  The black and white photo is very striking and I love how the scrapper cropped the photo down and then doubled it up at the bottom so it looks stacked.  A great technique! What a pretty page for a beautiful little girl!

 

My final pick for today is one of my favorite kind of scrapbook pages – a travel page.  Vacation Time by jwalls39 has me wanting to head over to the beach for an afternoon.  If only Mexico was a little closer. I love how she used the large photo in the back to set the scene. Then the layered photos and the mixed in elements gives this such a fun feel.  I love how she used a mixed of flower clusters and elements to keep your eye moving across the page.   I like the word art she used in her title and then the typewriter font is just the perfect touch. What a beautiful vacation page!

Well I hope my picks today encouraged you to sit down and scrap some pages or at least go out to the galleries and leave some love.  I hope all of you in the US have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!  Until next time….chao!

Have to say it was entirely too hot outside today to stand out there too long to view the eclipse! My daughter and I set a timer and went out every 10 minutes to see the progression.  It was definitely a cool thing to see.  I spent my cooling down time looking through the galleries to pick out 6 lovely layouts to feature today.   So here we go….

My first pick is called Girls Day Out by OKate.   This page jump out of the gallery because of the perfect use of black as both a grounding color and an accent color.  The way that the layout artist used the black really balances out the other pops of color and the white background.  I like the little 1-5 list on the left and the picture of the modern art she saw on her Girls Day Out.  This is very well composed and balanced page – I love it!

The next page I chose is by Jenna Jacquez titled Snug as a Bug.  The colors in this are so vibrant and eye catching!!  I like the way she made a base with the flowers and the leaves and then built her layout on top of that. What a cool idea!  I really love her title work too. What pull this together beautifully is the subtle sunburst on the background and her amazing shadows.

My next pick is much softer than the first two.  Sweetness by beaute is so lovely!  I like the use of the cut outs in the white paper to bring more color and dimension to the page.  Then the beautiful pictures of Venice work so nicely with the colors in this kit. It’s all so soft, floaty and lovely together!  The shadows on the butterflies make them look like they are flying above the page – I just love how this looks all together.

 

Next I found this lovely cool tone layout by christellevandyk titled Remember Me.  The contrast in this layout is amazing.  The grungy painted wood background, mixed with layers and layers of lovely flowers and then lace and the feathers.  Such a nice variety of textures and colors all over the page.  This clusters are just amazing with all the flowers and little bits tucked in. The shadows look great!!   I feel like the longer I look at the page the more details I find.  Such a remarkable page! 

I’ve been following the Master Scrapper Challenge at Scrapaneers and I saw this entry and could not resist sharing this here.  This page titled Coffee Clouds by londoncuppa wows me every time I look at it.  I don’t even know where to start.  First of the all the idea behind this page is phenomenal. Then to be able to mix all these different things together and make this beautiful art has to be a true gift!  I love the person climbing the ladder to get in the cup. The lights in background make this feel like it’s an artsy dream. The smoke is almost hypnotizing.   The shadowing and use of space is done so well.  I’m seriously in awe of this amazing page!

My final pick for today is the more minimal travel page titled Glen Coe- Scottish Highlands by cfile. First of all I love travel pages and this one is so unique! I really like the large title in the middle that gives the whole layout focus. Then the small photos with the markers.  What a great idea!  I love how she’s kept everything minimal and monotone except for the photos – it gives this such a clean and focused feel.  Finally the long photo at the bottom is just gorgeous and is the perfect anchor for this beautifully done page!!

Today I was able to find a large variety in the galleries. There is so much inspiration out there and so many talented scrappers.  I hope you take time and visit some scrapbook galleries and leave some love to a fellow scrapper soon!

Those dog days of August are definitely here!  Wow, is it hot and muggy outside!!  My family is spending the weekend cleaning out and reorganizing bed rooms.  Lucky me…I get to take a break from cleaning to look through the scrapbook galleries to find some amazing layouts to feature today.  I hope all of you are finding ways to stay cool too!

 

The first pick today is His and Hers by EllenT.  Now I’ve been a fan of Ellen’s scrapping for a long time now. She’s a scrapper that makes every page look incredible. What I really liked about this page was the focus on real, every day life…the things we won’t even know we forgot in five years.  I love how Ellen showed off her morning stuff versus her husband’s.  It’s humorous to see the difference. She complimented these contrasting photos with awesome layering of papers underneath to create a nice foundation.  The flowers help move the colors across the page and keep your eye interested and then the paint.  I just love all the paint and grunge that help fill in the rest of the space, but still keep the look of white space.  It creates a lovely balanced page!

I couldn’t pass up featuring our next page by Lynnette called Summer Faves.  I saw this layout in the Masters of Scrap Challenge in the Geometrist Challenge gallery.  Wow does Lynnette do a fabulous job with using shapes for this challenge or what?  The contrast of the brightly colored papers with the white outline and the graph paper really makes this pop!  I also really like how she was able to stick in some cute little summer themed elements , but it all still has a minimal look.  The stapled labels down the side of the page in a rainbow style just takes the cake!  The use of color with the white is so outstanding.  What a happy and fun page!

Next up I came across this layout titled The Zoo Crew by Jill.  The colors made this stand out in the gallery, but what really did it for me was the extraction of the hippo’s snout in the main photo.  I had to zoom in to see more to believe my eyes.  What an excellent job not only with the extraction but also with the shadowing. It really looks like the hippo is poking out and saying hello.  I also love Jill’s use of the color across the page. She has used a really nice balance of patterned and solid papers that keep your eye interested but it’s not too overwhelming.  The little flower clusters help balance everything out.  I love that she’s even had room to tell her story.  The icing on the top are the cute zoo characters she worked in. Such an adorable and creative page!

This next layout by Anny-Libelle titled Every Summer is a wonderful mix of traditional scrapping with a little artist flair.  I love the way the layout artist used artsy bits with traditional clusters and flowers.  This looks so amazing!  The textured background paper and added paints and stamps really gives the page a nice foundation.  Then the layering of the photos on top is just perfect. I really like the postal stamp outline on the largest photo – it makes this so fun!  Finally the flower clusters bring just the right amount of color and pop to the page bringing it all together beautifully!

This next page is like a little work of art.  Never stop exploring by Ga-l totally caught my eye while browsing the galleries.  I’m sure part of it was the size of the layout, but looking deeper it’s all the shadowing of the smaller layout on a white background, which makes it look as if this piece of art is laying on a table for us to see.  Then the page itself, the beautiful sky, complete with clouds and birds, so nicely blended.  I love how it transitions to the brown “land” paper with a wash of watercolor as if created by an artist.  The photo is nicely shadowed to look as if it’s laying on the page and the minimal elements are just perfect.  What a well put together page!

My final choice is this adorable no photo page by Shunnstergirl titled Star Party.  It really plays in to the eclipse that is about to happen over the US on Monday.  I think all of us are looking forward to seeing this event, even if we only have a partial view.  What I like about this page is the blending.  The cardstock is lighter in the middle and darkens as you move out to the sides.  Same with the lovely stars.  Then  the use of the elements builds a story about what this page is really talking about.  The banner links the two sides together beautifully creating a nice little nook for the journaling – what a great idea!  The shadows in the clusters look awesome and give the whole layout a great sense of depth.  A truly unique page!

I hope you’ve enjoy today’s Gallery Standouts!  I had a great time browsing through the gallery while staying cool.  Now it’s back to cleaning out bedrooms and getting things organized.  Have a great weekend everyone!