Love This Layout with special guest Elizabeth Gardner

June 5, 2016

We’ve loved what Elizabeth Gardner has shared with us so far, and we’re lucky that she had so much fun working with ES products, that she made extra projects to share with you! Elizabeth has a way of making something so simple, like her page below, just blow us away. Let’s take a look:

Isn’t it great how a little stitching can add some color and make an otherwise simple page look special?

When I saw this heart paper in the Little Moments 12” x 12” paper collection pack, I just fell in love! I think for my next page I will sew on the entire 12” x 12” sheet! For this page, I chose random hearts to stitch in rainbow colors with embroidery floss. Then, I layered some tags from the May 2016 exclusive kit on top, added some arrows from the Good Stuff puffy stickers and called it complete. The “love this” black tag from the Little Moments bits and pieces serves as my title. Simplicity at it’s finest!

The design of this page allows the sweet black and white photo to be the star, as it should be!

Hello there! I’m so excited to be guest designing for Elle’s Studio. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I’m a mom of four, wife to a man I refer to only as “Hottie,” & owner of a velcro dog named Mr. Snicklefritz McGee. I am addicted to playing roller derby and changing my hair color. I’m also a stone cold crafting/art/scrapbooking nerd and am proud of it! I get ridiculously excited over watercolors and scrappy products hot off the presses. I have tried my hand at just about every medium of art but scrapbooking is my constant. It’s my jam. I typically do pocket pages and 12×12 pages… at least 4 a week. So I guess you could say I am one productive nerd! Thanks for having me. It was a pleasure!

You can find more of Elizabeth’s work at her blog, My Scrappy Life, and on her Instagram feed! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome layout, Elizabeth!

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Layout with special guest Elizabeth Gardner

June 3, 2016

Let’s welcome Elizabeth Gardner back today with a fun, colorful layout using our exclusive kits. We love how she used the entire Jonah alphabet stamp on her background! Let’s take a look at what she created:

THIS was a fun page to make. I started out with some neon stamp pads and the entire Jonah alphabet stamp to create a unique background. Then, I began layering the Jonah labels, a plain white tag, patterned paper from the Little Moments 12” x 12” paper collection, Good Stuff puffy stickers, a doily and tags from the May 2016 exclusive kit. I added my title with the black letter and number stickers, and short handwritten journaling. Pretty soon it had all come together, and with such little effort!

These acrylic sunglasses are EVERYTHING! Look how adorable they are!

I thought it would be fun to find a photo that complimented the sunglass theme. I happened to have this one lying around. Yes, I AM always this weird. Every day of the week, as you can see!

You can find more of Elizabeth’s work at her blog, My Scrappy Life, and on her Instagram feed! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome layout, Elizabeth!

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Sketch Thursday

June 2, 2016

Good Morning! This is Melissa here with you this morning and I’m sharing my take on the sketch based off the original layout by Michelle. I love Michelle’s style and was excited to base my layout off one of her projects 🙂

Products used: Little Moments Pattern Paper Collection, Little Moments 6×6 Paper Stack, Basic Journaling tags – gray, Documented Acrylic Words – black, Thankful Stickers, Cienna Stickers, May Exclusive kit.

The first thing you’ll notice is that I made a 12×12 layout instead of a 8.5×11 layout. I pretty much stuck to the sketch except for the little banner that is peeking out to the right of the upper photo. I decided to put an entire column of paper banners down the length of the pattern paper block that my pictures were adhered to. I also decided to change up the place of my title. Instead of being in the lower right hand corner, I placed the acrylic word “Good Times” directly onto my photo and glued into placed using some glossy accents.

If you love our sketches to jumpstart your creative process, you won’t want to miss our new class, From Sketch to Finish, which includes 30 sketches and 20 projects from 10 different contributors to inspire you! With projects for cardmakers, traditional scrapbookers and pocket-page scrapbookers, there is something for everyone! Check out all of the details in the Elle’s Studio shop today!

Now it’s your turn – We would love to see your take on this weeks sketch!! For a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to our shop, create a project inspired by today’s sketch, upload it to the Member gallery and leave a comment here with the link by June 22nd. A random winner will be selected and posted with the next sketch on June 23rd.

Congrats to our randomly selected winner this week! Rita created this bright and beautiful layout from our previous sketch! Please email us at info@shopellesstudio.com to claim your prize!

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Week in the Life part 2 with Jamie Leija

June 1, 2016

Hi there! Jamie again! Back to share another 9×12 pocket page I put together with the new Documented items.

Products Used: Documented Journaling Tags, Documented Stamp, Basic Journaling Tags-Gray, Little Moments Bits & Pieces, Elle’s Studio exclusive May kit, Letters & Number Stickers-Gray, Good Stuff puffy stickers, Little Moments Wood Veneer, and Little Moments Paper Stack.

For this spread, I totally shifted gears for the previous one and went for a more subtle color scheme, just neutrals plus a few pops of red and yellow.

That little pocket card was so fun to make! The base is a Basic Journaling Tag and the front pocket is one of the Documented Journaling Tags cut down. I machine stitched just a bit of the bottom. Since it’s in a pocket protector anyway, I didn’t feel I needed to stitch over the stamped date (I used that red ombre ink pad again).

I stamped on a ordinary manila shipping tag and hand wrote my journaling. I like that it’s hidden. I had an interesting story to share about this day, my 31st birthday. Let’s just say it wasn’t the greatest birthday. It wasn’t terrible! But it didn’t end up being a fun day, like one would have hoped.

Once I started writing I realized that the front and back of one card wasn’t going to be enough, so I added a second tag and tied them together at the top, using the string. I love that everything is all tucked away nice and neat and pretty!

The “Highlights” card is from the Documented Journaling Tags set. I embellished it with some ink splatters, a few scraps of paper from the Little Moments Paper Stack, a die cut from the May kit and a puffy sticker. I love the pops of red down at the bottom there.

To finish the spread, I added a few things directly to my photos, something I do a lot of on pocket pages! Stamping in Stazon ink all over the bloody mary photo. A wood veneer to the top of the chicken and waffles photo. A tiny die cut + puffy heart on the strawberry shortcake image.

What I’m calling the title card, has the most layering. I used gold ink plus the great striped stamp from the Documented stamp set as the base. Then I added “Remember” from the Little Moments Bits & Pieces. Then I added “31” with Light Gray letter stickers, which I outlined with a white pen to make sure you could read it. Then I added a yellow puffy star.

I’m so beyond thrilled to have these two pages done! And I’m completely loving how they turned out. Maybe it was a good thing I didn’t finish them back in September. They were obviously waiting for the Documented products to come around!

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Week in the Life part 1 with Jamie Leija

May 30, 2016

Hiya, it’s Jamie! Today, I’m excited to show you what I’ve done with the new Documented items.

I started a week in the life project last September. I had all of my photos printed and in pockets….and then I did next to nothing with it all! So, I’m determined over the next few weeks, to finish this project.

I made two 9×12 pocket pages, one I’ll share today and the other on the 1st!

Products used: Documented Journaling Tags, Documented Stamp, Basic Journaling Tags-Gray, Little Moments Bits & Pieces, Elle’s Studio exclusive May kit, Letters & Number Stickers – Black, Gray, and Marie Alphabet Stamp.

For this spread, I had a blast incorporating a ton of color. Having photos in front of that spectacular mural meant I could use every color under the sun on this project!

“Good Times” was the perfect sentiment for this event, which was my birthday lunch. I loved the bright happy blue Elle used. I ended up cutting this tag down and building my own design using it, one of the new Basic Journaling Tags in Gray and two of the stamps. That tab stamped at the top might be my favorite bit of this project! I stamped using a red ombre ink. Soo good!

I’ll take any excuse to use purple on projects, so I stamped “highlights” using lavender ink and “the details” with a deep purple. Speaking of “the details” stamp, it’s just so perfect for creating your own 3×4 cards! In this case, I stamped it on one of the Documented Journaling tags and then I hand wrote my journaling. I like the mix of “fonts” on this card: a script + a serif + handwriting.

The last card was from the May kit, just loved that bold green! It’s subtle, but I wanted to add some stamping to this card. Using the Marie alpha and Versamark ink, I stamped “H Town” over and over.

The finishing touches for this were stamping directly onto a few of the photos and adding a few of the Little Moments Bits & Pieces.

Check back Wednesday for part two!

Cheers,
Jamie

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Just the Highlights Mini Album with Alissa Fast

May 27, 2016

Good morning, all! Alissa here today with a super fun mini, and I mean mini, book made with the May mid-month release, Documented. Say that 3 times fast, May mid-month release! It’s a tongue twister to say but a dream to create with. I LOVE this mini release. I think the stamps are my favorite thing.

I’ve made a few of these tag mini books in the past and I just keep on recreating them in different with different products and photos and I never grow tired of this tiny little book idea.

Supplies: Documented Journaling Tags, Documented Stamp, Tab Die, Documented Acrylic Words -White, Basic Journaling Tags – Gray, Basic Journaling Tags – Pink, Letter & Number Stickers – Black

All you need is a large tag, some paint or stain or ink, some twine, stamping ink, a few photos and the mini month release, Documented.

I smeared Distress Stain in Abandoned Coral all over the front and back of the tag and cut down the 4×6 journal tags to 3×6. I scored all of my cards and tags down the center. To make a book, I used 3×4 tags scored them in random places, not in the center, as you’ll see in my photos.

The “the details” stamp is my favorite in the exclusive Documented stamp set. It was perfect for setting the theme of the mini book on the front inside cover.

More stamping and layering of washi tape from my stash. I also ran my Distress Stain along the edges of all of the cards, to add more color to the edges. I ran the cute tab dies through my Big Shot and stapled tabs on randomly to the pages.

I have room to add more photos and journaling later on, if I want to add more.

The highlights card was perfect as a center page focal point. The exclusive puffy stickers are just perfect with this mini collection.

Now it’s your turn. Grab a tag, some string and the new Documented collection and get creating! Make sure you share your projects with us in our Member Gallery or on Instagram with the hashtag #ellesstudio!

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Sketch Thursday

May 26, 2016

Hello there! It’s Meghann here, and I’m really excited to be here for Sketch Thursday! Jen Schow’s Work & Homework layout was one of my favorites in the May design team gallery, so I was so happy to see that this week’s sketch was created from her layout.

There are so many awesome possibilities with this sketch, and my favorite part was the row of 5 circles below the photo and 3” x 4” tag. I chose to use a vertical 4” x 6” photo, so I flipped the sketch counter-clockwise and started working!

Supplies | May 2016 exclusive kit, Little Moments 12” x 12” paper collection, Little Moments 6” x 6” paper stack, Little Moments bits and pieces, letter and number stickers- teal, Documented stamp, Let’s Eat Yummy Details stamp

Even though the sketch had one strip of patterned paper on the side of the photo, I decided to use three, because I wanted a few different colors, and I couldn’t choose between all of the lovely patterns in the Little Moments collection!

My favorite part of the layout, the row of 5 circles, was my opportunity to embellish this page! I punched circles and layered circular tags from the May 2016 exclusive kit on top. I also stamped the fork, knife and spoon circle and layered it on a punched circle, since this layout was about a lovely lunch we had while on vacation. I had been hoarding a three-dimensional layered embellishment for a while, and wanted to use it, but some of the colors in the layers just didn’t work with this layout. So, I pulled the layers apart, and added a punched circle from the Little Moments 6” x 6” paper stack, as well as the “happiness” tag from the Little Moments 12” x 12” paper collection instead. I customized the embellishment to fit the layout!

I had to do a bit of stamping, so at the bottom of my circular embellishments, I added “don’t forget” and “today” from the new Documented stamp, as well as the date.

This layout came together quickly since I started with an awesome sketch! If you love Elle’s Studio sketches to jumpstart your creative process, you won’t want to miss our new class, From Sketch to Finish, which includes 30 sketches and 20 projects from 10 different contributors to inspire you! With projects for cardmakers, traditional scrapbookers and pocket-page scrapbookers, there is something for everyone! Check out all of the details in the Elle’s Studio shop today!

Now it’s your turn – We would love to see your take on this weeks sketch!! For a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to our shop, create a project inspired by today’s sketch, upload it to the Member gallery and leave a comment here with the link by June 1st. A random winner will be selected and posted with the next sketch on June 2nd.

Congrats to our randomly selected winner this week! Gina created this adorable layout from our previous sketch! Please email us at info@shopellesstudio.com to claim your prize!

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Little Moments with Special Guest Heather Leopard

May 25, 2016

Haven’t our guest designers been awesome this month? We’re happy to welcome back Heather Leopard for her second post, sharing a project that’s sure to have you reaching for your scissors or die-cutting machine!

Hello everyone! It’s Heather Leopard again, and I am so happy to share my final project as guest designer this month. My first project was a mini album but today I’m getting back to my true love, traditional scrapbooking.

Supplies: May exclusive kit, Little Moments 6” x 6” paper stack, Little Moments bits and pieces, Little Moments cutouts, Little Moments journaling tags, Days of the Week acrylics, Good Stuff puffy stickers, letter and number stickers- black

This page was inspired by the background paper. The little hearts reminded me of dandelion seeds, so I decided to scrap these photos of my daughter making a wish with her dandelion. I’m a big fan of fun backgrounds so I decided to scatter flowers throughout the page.

I cut flower petals from various patterned papers found in the 6” x 6” paper stack and arranged them around the page. I adhered them together in the center using a bit of liquid adhesive. Once dry, I stitched circles in the middle. Some are covered with larger tags and embellishments, while others are small enough to reveal the stitching.

I layered bits of journaling tags, vellum, puffy stickers, bits & pieces and more under and around my photos. I even cut the center out of the “love this” insta-frame journaling tag and popped one of my photos through it. My title is a combo of the “true story” acrylic and alphabet stickers. And last, but not least is a little note to my daughter.

To re-create this, all you need is a few coordinating patterns, scissors or a die cut machine to cut leaves and it will come together in no time!

Thanks to Elle and team for inviting me to guest this month. It was so fun working with the May kit! That’s it for me here on the Elle’s Studio blog but let’s connect on Instagram!

Hi! I’m Heather Leopard and I am thrilled to be guest designing for Elle’s Studio! I was born and raised in the Lone Star State and live in Cypress, Texas with my family – hubby, 2 daughters, 1 bonus son, and 2 rescue dogs. I lead marketing initiatives for a major computer company but my real passion is playing with paper, glue and scissors. I started scrapbooking in middle school WAY back and scrapped here and there through college. I got REALLY into it when I got married in 2002 and then I became OBSESSED with it when I had my babies, who aren’t really babies anymore. I love to scrap the little details and daily adventures of my family and I aim to capture the essence of whatever it is they are doing. My signature style includes lots of pattern mixing, matching, and layering in fun and unique ways. I also design for Shimelle.com and Gossamer Blue.

You can find more of Heather’s work at her blog, The Spotted Leopard, on her Instagram feed or at Periscope!

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Good Times with Allie Stewart

May 24, 2016

Hello everyone! Allie here today, and I have a layout to share using the Documented exclusive products!

To create this layout, I started with the Documented journaling cards. I particularly loved the 4″x6″ chevron pattern, so I used two of them across the page to create a patterned paper. I added other strips of patterned paper from the Little Moments collection to the top of the page, and then sewed them all down. I stamped across the rest of the page with the Documented stamp to create a textured looking background.

Next, I added my photo and used it to anchor a cluster of phrases that applied to the layout! I especially love the acrylic word and the “Good Times” which was cut from a Documented journaling card. I also used the Good Stuff puffy stickers to add more texture.

To title my page, I used the Marie Alphabet Stamp. I am actually quite terrible at stamping, To remedy this, I often use black ink so that I can color in any imperfections with a pen. It’s a great tip to make your stamping look perfect! I place my layout onto a piece of craft foam (like the green one in the picture) before I stamp it. If I’m coloring in the image, I leave the foam under the layout. It makes the coloring easier and smoother!

There you have it! Thanks for joining us today, and don’t forget to stop by the shop to check out the new Documented products!

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Our new class + products are available now!

May 23, 2016

We have some exciting new items in the shop today!

Simplify your scrapbooking process and start with a sketch! Our new class “From Sketch to Finish” will show you how working with sketches takes the guesswork out of the process and will allow to you create layouts, cards, and pocket pages in no time!

This 50 page PDF class starts with 10 different sketches with 10 contributors each sharing two papercrafting projects created from a sketch. You’ll get to read their tips and see their techniques in action as they share their process of working with the sketches. Then, we will end the class with an extra bonus of 20 full-page sketches and you’ll be on your way to creating projects in no time!

Our amazing contributors (Meghann Andrew, Laura Bassen, Nancy Damiano, Danielle Flanders, Jess Forster, Andrea Gray, Maggie Massey, Leigh Odynski, Candace Perkins, and Carson Riutta) will show you how you can follow the sketch exactly, or adapt it to work with your photos and supplies. Along the way, you’ll also learn tips on how to stretch your sketches and how you can customize them to fit your style!

This class comes as a downloadable self-paced PDF file. Once you have purchased the class, you will receive a link, via email, to download the class.

We are also excited to announce that our new Documented mini collection is here! You’ll find double-sided journaling tags, basic journaling tags with a grid on one side and polka dots on the other in pink and gray, a 4 x 6 stamp that also coordinates with our tab die, and acrylic words in white and black!

And, we are also excited to introduce to you our first ever tool:We are taking the guess work out of your stamping and photo cropping with our Crop and Stamp Acrylic Block! You can use this block to stamp your clear stamps and center stamped images easily using the center grid lines provided.

Plus, this block will also allow you to to crop larger photos down to 3 x 4 inches to fit in your pocket pages! Just lay the block over the photo to find the desired placement. Then run an x-acto blade around the edges! It’s so simple to use and the best part is, by laying the block over the photo before you cut, you can see through the block so you can line up and cut your photo perfectly! In the sample photo above, it also shows you how you can use the grid on the block to center your images before you cut!

And, there is a bonus for our planner friends! This block is also thin enough to fit into your planners and features a hole in the left corner for storing in binders. You could also use it to take your favorite stamps on the go! Just stick them to the block and bring your ink!

We also have a limited number of Little Moment bundles available while supplies last to celebrate our new From Sketch to Finish class! Our contributors used this collection on their projects and it’s the perfect addition to add to your class purchase!

And, just a reminder – We value your feedback so much and would love to hear from each one of you! Because your opinion is so important to us, we have put together a survey based off of questions we have been receiving and special requests that have been asked. And, after you take our survey there will be a 20% off coupon code at the end (that you can use today!!) to thank you for your time! *Please note: coupon code is not valid on wholesale orders.

Thank you so much for joining us today – we are so excited to see how our new Documented mini collection and From Sketch to Finish class inspires you!

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