Layout and Sale!!!

Did you get a Silhouette cutter for Christmas?  Are you resolving to use your Silhouette more in 2017?

Let's send 2016 packing and welcome 2017 with a special sale!

The Silhouette Titles class is on sale this weekend for only $12.  I've never marked a class down that much.  It's just over $1 per lesson.

Learn how to do simple but effective titles like the one on this layout in the 10 lessons from that class.  The class shows simple, quick tricks and more complex features of creating titles and text with your Silhouette.

Visit my class page for more information.

Here's today's layout with an interactive element.

I shared some observations on the effect Hurricane Matthew had on Hilton Head Island in an earlier post.  This is my layout with a flip back feature that hold quite a few things I printed out about the hurricane.  This gives me a reference of how the evacuation and cleanup were handled. Hopefully no one will ever have to go through this again but I wanted to be able to have some info for future reference just in case.

The page uses several small photos.  The sketch provides for 4 4x6 photos.

Here's the process video:

And here is the sketch:

Don't forget, the reduced price on the Silhouette Titles class ends Monday at 10 pm. ET.

Thanks for watching!

80th Birthday

Well, it's about time I got this page done.  My Dad is well past the 80th birthday.  I printed the photos and thought I'd made a cropping mistake and never would remember to reprint. Which one of us is getting older?  Anyway, when I finally pulled the photos back up, I realize this was just how they were taken.

These 4 photos stagger down the page in the order taken.  I used Basic Grey's Urban Luxe because of the bright blue color.  I like the page all but the sequins.  Normally when I do sequins they enhance the look.  In this case though, they seem distracting.  I'm not sure if it is the color contrast or that I already have a lot on the page.  What do you think?

Here's the process video:


And the sketch:

Thanks for visiting today!

Interactive Page for 4 Photos

Another beach page here with some similar ideas as the last one but a very different look.  I'm going for a soft sunrise, early morning walk on the beach.  This one also has room for 4 photos though I've used only 3.  Two show and the other area is hidden.

I originally planned to use more paper but did several stickers instead.

Process video here:



Here's the sketch:

Thanks for visiting today!

Happy Halloween

No, I haven't been knocked out for two months and forgotten the season. These photos were taken on Halloween at the beach. Best Halloween ever!

The four photos are on a stenciled background embellished with lots of chipboard.  A few hearts and washi tape tie it all together. The stencil is from Crafter's Workshop.

Process video here:



Thanks for visiting today!

"No Mess" Holiday Cheese Ball

One of my favorite treats for Christmas is my very cheesy cheese ball.  This recipe originated in a 1970's church cookbook and was one of the first things I learned to make myself.  At first I would mix all the ingredients by hand and that was messy.  I've modified the process over the years with the help of the dough maker attachment on my mixer and it is super easy and clean to do now.  Even with filming, I made these 5 cheese balls in under 45 minutes.

Speaking of filming, I had a bit of help at the beginning and the end. The camera man got to clean up the bowl though there wasn't much for him there.

Here is our very first food video:


And here is the recipe:


Cheesy No Mess Cheese Ball

2 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 lb. Velveeta, softened and cut into cubes.  I used shredded Velvetta in the video.
8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
8 ounces chopped pecans

Add first 4 ingredients to mixing bowl sprinkling the garlic powder over the cheeses.  Use dough maker attachment to blend with heavy stand mixer.

Wet hands and form cheese balls to desired sizes.

Roll in chopped pecans.

(Modified from recipe for St. Luke's American Lutheran Church Women's Cookbook, 1977)


Thanks for visiting and Happy Holidays!

Annual Fall page

I wish we took more fall photos, but every year it seems I only have enough for one layout. This year we had a lovely day in the mountains with a long walk, a good lunch and some browsing in town.

For the layout I used a Stampin' Up! paper pack from their current holiday catalog.  I also used some 6x6 papers for the leaves that are coated with glossy accents and ink.  A few wood embellishments round out the page.

Here's the process video:





And here is the sketch

Just a photo - please ignore

(Regular subscribers, just ignore this post.  I'll be back later in the week with another process video and layout.)

Hi!  After several attempts and emailing and texting this photo, I've given up and put it here on my blog so the person who needs to see it can.

Pieced background

I could not find the right table for our television so we just built our own.

For this layout, I used the Silhouette to create a background with 6x6 papers.  The process video shares creating the cross cut in the basic Silhouette software.

Here's the video:



And here is the sketch:

Thanks for visiting today!

Art Journaling Layers

I admit that I did this spread so long ago I can't remember a lot about it.

I do remember wanting to play with some beautiful images in magazines my mother had handed down to me. She gave me a Veranda, Architectural Digest and, I think, a House Beautiful.  I used to subscribe to decorating magazines but I'm not in the business anymore and honestly, I get as much value from the free stuff online.  I know that isn't what magazine publishers want to hear but whenver I buy a magazine I'm usually let down by how little content there is for the money I've spent.  Times have changed.

For the journaling page, I also used some layers of texture from my kit I assembled beforehand - see this video - and some stickers.

The theme is about being ready for fall to arrive. As it was, fall didn't really arrive here.  It got cold for a few days and then the warmth returned.  It has been excessively, dangerously dry.

Here's the video:



Thanks for visiting!

Sunny Sculpture Festival

Apparently this local sculpture festival has been going on for years.  I just learned about it last year and really enjoyed the event so this year I took my husband.  The one difference was the weather.  We went in the morning so we could have lunch afterwards and it was still very warm.  There is a photo of some ducks heading for a cool spot that I meant to print out and put on the layout.  They needed a little shade, too.

The festival takes place at a beautiful park and showcases beautiful objects made of wood, metal and all kinds of other mediums.  My favorite was the one containing colored glass.  Hubby liked some of the wood carvings.

For the layout, I used 3"x4" photos stairstepped down the 2 pager.  Lots of stickers are used for embellishments and little bits of journaling.  The page still needed something to fill it out so I reached for my gelli prints to for more embellishment and journaling.

Check out the process video here:


And here is the sketch:

Thanks for watching!

Blinging up a Winter Page

We had one winter weather event last year.  It was more ice than anything. The trees glistened for a few hours and I got a couple of photos.  The kitty is Jasper rolling around on the porch. It is a covered porch and stayed dry for this event.  He has access to an outdoor building where he can stay warm and dry.

For the page, I used a combo of old and new.  The background paper is some ancient Pebbles paper from a baby boy collection.  The smaller papers are from Basic Grey's Urban Luxe.  The rhinestone letters are older product from Kaiser craft.

Here is the process video:



And here is the sketch:

Thanks for visiting!

And the mantel...

One more holiday decorating project is the mantle garland.

We do not use our fireplace at all.  If you use your fireplace for any type of fire, please check into what his safe to place near the fireplace opening, if anything.  

The process video is shown here:



Be sure to see the previous post for suggestions on acquiring the pretties for your holiday decorating.

Thanks for watching!  I'll have another scrapbooking process video up soon.

Holiday Staircase Garland

Almost every year since the mid-90's, I have been hanging and decorating a holiday garland on my staircase and in recent years on my mantle as well.  This is a favorite of visitors and finally I remembered to film the process. The process video is below.

My Mother started me on this.  She did the initial shopping and purchased my artificial garland.  I've added and changed ornaments and ribbon over the years.  We've learned a few things about shopping for Christmas decorations over the years. Here are a few tips:

• Scout the stores weeks before Christmas to see who has the kind of decorations you would like to purchase.  Some stories like Hobby Lobby will run discounts throughout the season but many will wait until just before Christmas to start markdowns.  Stores that carry these items as seasonal decorations will have the best sales as they need to move the product out.
• Recheck with your favorite stores the week before Christmas to start collecting.  When we first started we always had to wait until the day after Christmas to get bargains, but many stores start marking down earlier now.
• Choose a color scheme of no more than 3 colors.  I use gold, burgundy/dark red, and light green. I've changed schemes over the years.  Originally it was gold, red and white.
• Buy 3 or more of one type of ornament.  Odd numbers work best in decorating though you may find even numbers of ornaments that come in a box.
• Select ornaments of all shapes and sizes.  Choose decorations where you don't have to get super close to see the detail.  You and your guests will appreciate your garland from a distance.
• Fill in with some florist pieces.
• Have florist wire on hand to hang ornaments and secure ones that need a little extra hold.
• Choose special large pieces for the newel posts on your stairway.  This is an area I change up every few years as I only have to change 2 or 3 pieces to have a fresh look.

Most of my ornaments came from department stores and the Christmas shop at our now closed Ace Hardware store.  All of us in the area mourned the loss of that great store particularly for holiday decorations.  I also bought quite a few decorations of Martha Stewart for Kmart.  I don't know if she still does decorations for them or not, but they were always beautiful and reasonably priced.

A couple of disclaimers on the video.  This is the first video I have made using a regular tripod.  My husband was tied up so I did it all myself as you can probably guess.  The lightening is a little brigher than I would have liked.  A cloudy day would be best but, unfortunately, there isn't a cloud in the forecast for days.  I would appreciate any constructive feedback you have.  Thanks!

Here's the process video:

Thanks for watching!  I'm planning to decorate my mantle this weekend so perhaps I'll get that one filmed as well.

Drapery School and a Canvas Sale

For years, I dreamed of having my own business.  I investigated starting my own catering business.  I loved to sew and considered becoming a dressmaker.  Oh, how glad I am that didn't get out of my head into actual work.  I have trouble fitting myself!  I thought about decorating children's rooms making all the bedding and painting murals on the walls.  This was more of a fantasy since I can't really draw (ha).  I thought of running a small clothing or home accessories manufacturing firm.  I had plenty of ideas but I never got past some notes, a little research or making a few samples.

Then one day, I came across an ad for a professional drapery school just 2 hours from my home! I couldn't believe it.  I had made many of the window treatments for my own home and was starting to do some things for friends.  Here was a school that could teach me to make things properly.

So I took 4 days of vacation and attending this amazing school, the only one of its kind in the country.  We learned everything from where to buy equipment to making our own patterns to constructing several different types of window treatments. I left knowing I could indeed start my own business and I did.  For 16 years, sometimes part time, sometimes full time, I created professional window treatments.

This layout celebrates that class.  I've used cardstock and stencils for the background and matting.  The video also shares hand stitching the title.  I've mixed purchased chipboard embellishments with memorabilia.  For more techniques like the ones in this video, check out my classes at:  http://www.lisaedesign.com/p/classes.html   I have classes in using creative ways to use Cardstock and Stenciling on your scrapbook pages.

Here's the process video:



And here is the sketch:

And speaking of hand crafted things, I've reduced the prices on all of the handmade canvases in my Etsy shop just in time for the holidays:  Lovely Layers Art

Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me.

Title Page with circle photos

Don't gasp. I've cut some photos in circles!  What was 'out' for so long is back in again.  These photos are some of the many extras I have from visiting Gibb's Gardens north of Atlanta in May of this year.  The 5x7 photo will be the title page for the trip.

You could do this page with the circles cut only from papers and skip the supplemental photos.  Here's the process video:



And here is the sketch:

Thanks for visiting today!

Post hurricane island

Our favorite beach is Hilton Head Island.  We were fortunate enough to go twice this year including a trip just last week.  We love the island and I scoured the Internet for whatever photos I could find during and after Hurricane Matthew crawled by the island as Category 2 with 110 mph winds just off shore on October 6 and 7, 2016.

We've been visiting the island for 25 years and have never known this type of event to occur.  I've been extremely impressed with the plan they had and followed through with after the hurricane.  They are working extremely hard to clear all of the downed trees and debris. We found the roads cleared and almost all bike paths cleared.  With the continual work, some of these photos are already outdated but I wanted to share what we saw.

We were staying in the middle of the island which I believe had less damage than the south or north ends.

It looks like the Loch Nest Monster snacked on the dunes.  I think these dunes prevented a lot of flooding.  Otherwise, the beach was unchanged.

The island will be a little sunnier place with trees down.  Most places seem to have lost odd trees here and there, not great swaths of trees.  It is the trees that make the island so special so we hate to see any of them lost.  Cleanup work here was just about completed by the time we left.

We had to go around or turn around just a couple of times when out biking.  I was amazed that they had the paths not only cleared but cleaned of almost all debris.

We saw exactly two things washed up on shore in the 2-3 miles of shoreline we walked regularly.  One was clearly ripped from the ground as the concrete was still attached and then there were these steps.

I was surprised to see so little roof damage in the area of the island we were staying.  This condo complex is on the beach.  There were a few houses with tarps as well but not that many.

We have never visited this late in the year so we didn't know if the lighter crowd was due to the time of year or the hurricane.  People were playing tennis, biking, beach and dining in the restaurants.  Why would anyone stay away?  We figured this out after about 3 days when we biked by this closed golf course.  We never saw anyone playing golf anywhere on or off island.  I imagine it is a much more delicate procedure removing downed trees from a golf course.

The damage was also more apparent on the neighborhood streets which were cleared but piled on either side with trees and branches waiting to be hauled away.

All photos were taken from October 28 to November 1, 2016

We are so grateful to the city and the people of Hilton Head for all their hard work in cleaning up and moving on.  We hope to visit again as often as possible.

A more serene hiking page

After two colorful hiking pages, I have this one that is more serene.

This layout was simple and quick.  Here's the process video:

Visit my class page for more information on my latest class The Living Page and all of my other classes.  Thanks for watching!

A new hiking place

Another hiking page today.  This one features a hiking area that definitely isn't new but new to us.  This old quarry is a place I passed occasionally during my childhood. Apparently the county built a park there a few years ago but we only learned about it recently.  It is a well maintained park with well marked trails and rails in the high areas.

For the page, I arranged the photos vertically to emphasize the arrangement of the park trails and the view.  I used some fun, cheerful embellishments from My Mind's Eye that gave the page color.

Here's the process video:



Thanks for watching!

Lost?

When I was in junior high, we had to take California Achievement Tests every year here in NC.  There was always a section on maps where you had to read a map and answer questions.  I loved it.  That was my favorite part and usually best scoring part.

Years later when I began traveling for business years before GPS, I would get my rental car map and off I'd go.  It was fun to me to explore a new city.  Then I worked for a company where I had to travel to people's homes often in the mountains with just the homeowner's directions.  Challenging but I only got so lost once that I had to call for further information.  Even now I can go back to places I've been once 10 years ago.

All of this is on paved - or mostly paved - roads.  Put me out in the woods and it is a different story.  When we go hiking I'm dependent on the trail maps and markings and am not very good at reading those.  There is a park near here though that has wonderful markings with a large trail map posted at each numbered cross point.  The park is bordered by a river on one side and a highway on the other. How could you get lost?

Well, I did or at least turned around twice!  I was a bit frustrated with myself but we enjoyed the walk so much.  The layout I did is a bit more playful than my normal hiking layouts.

I wanted this one to be about that funny thing that happened rather than the environment so I chose Simple Stories papers and stickers from Life in Color.

My new class "The Living Page" is all about making choices to bring out the memories from your photos you most want to convey.  Check it out on the Class Page

Here's the process video:



And here is the sketch:

Thanks for watching!

Make your Scrapbook pages come Alive!

It's here!  My new class...

One day my husband was looking at a beach themed page I had created and he went “ah, I feel like I’m there.”  Yes!  That is just what I want him to feel when he looks at that page.  I want him to feel the warm sun and the spray of the water as he is playing in the surf.  I want him to chuckle at me in my goofy beach hat.  Isn't it wonderful to have a hobby that can completely recreate a memory of a day at the beach?

Yet, my pages haven't always been this way.  Sometimes I get consumed with all the fun tools, pretty paper, cute embellishments and don't really tell the story.  Later on when I look at the page, I see all the cool product but I have to really hunt for the story.  Yet, you CAN use all those cute embellishments and still tell the story you want to tell.  Using my scrapbook product to support my story and recreate the memory is what this new class is all about.

This, my 6th on-line Scrapbooking class is particularly special to me as it shares not only techniques but a philosophy I have about scrapbooking.  By thinking about our supplies just a bit differently, they can make our pages come alive for us.  When I look back on my pages, I want to be in the memory, to feel the way I felt when the photo was taken.  It is why I titled this class “The Living Page.”

I want to share with you how I choose a background for a page, select colors, find a clever and revealing title, arrange the elements of the page, choose embellishments, and set the tone.  We don’t have to worry about every single one of these for every page.  As you ask yourself many of the questions in the class PDF, you'll find that the choices for your page start to flow naturally.  It isn’t more difficult to create a page that helps tell the story.  It is often more rewarding.

This self-paced class contains:

• 11 lessons
• 10 brand new layouts shown step-by-step in the videos
• 5 hours of HD video
• A 25 page PDF containing prompts, notes and suggestions for each lessons, 10 sketches, and a supply list for the step-by-step projects shown.

Most lessons also begin with additional examples of past layouts that utilize the principles of that lesson.  I've included a few examples where I missed the boat, too, as a way of showing how a few changes can create a page that is more meaningful.

This class combines theory and practice.  It also includes lessons on capturing someone else's memories, vintage photos and using memorabilia on a page.

While I practice this philosophy in many of my regular process videos, this class shares all of the thoughts behind my product choices - the Why and the How.  The videos are longer and more detailed than my weekly process videos.

I hope you will join me to fully bring your memories alive on your scrapbook pages.

Click here to purchase the class

I love teaching and I love sharing ideas.  Thank you for supporting my classes.  

Hidden Journaling under a 5x7 Photo

Announcement:  New class - The Living Page - is coming next week!  Stay tuned for more details...

In July, one of my cousins was visiting from the midwest.  Another cousin and I took her to the Biltmore House for her first visit.  It was a lovely day for just us girls.

For the page, I added Silhouette cut hinges to the top of the 5x7 photo.  The journaling is hidden underneath.  The other smaller photo is part of the embellishment group.

I've created a somewhat formal page with a few fun trims.  Here's the process video:


And here is the sketch:

Thanks for watching!

A Whimsical page with 6x6 Papers

It's fun to do a fun page.  This one uses Saturday Dear Lizzy 6x6 paper pad and Stampin' Up! Soft Sky cardstock.  I hand drew the raindrops and the sun rays adding some outlining for fun.

If you like to use 6x6 pads, check out my Sensational 6x6 Paper Techniques class.

Here's the process video:


And here is the sketch:

Thanks for watching!

Mass produced holiday cards minus boredom

I used to design my holiday card and then make 30 or more of that one design.  Yawn!  I would get so tired of it by the time I was done.  I like some variety.

For this year's family and friends cards, I'm using the adorable Merry Mice set from Stampin' Up! and some Doodlebug Santa Claus is Coming to Town 6x6 papers.  One card also uses music paper which you can find in my Etsy shop.

The video runs nearly 20 minutes but it covers some of all of the card designs and how to use the 6x6 pads with as little waste as possible.

Process video


Here's the sketch:

I've made 22 cards so far. Thanks for watching!