Two new and exclusive kits are here!

It’s a BIG day here at Elle’s Studio – we have two brand new kits that are packed full of beautiful items from other scrapbooking manufacturers and really fun exclusives from us! The exclusive tags are limited to these kits only, and will never be printed or sold again out side of these kits, again! There are also exclusive Elle’s Studio stamps and badges, too! Jenni did such an amazing job putting these together – these are my favorite kits to date, I love the colors and how everything came together – She even made the layout above to kick off the inspiration!

Kits will start shipping first thing tomorrow morning, so you can get started creating with your kit right away! And, we have a special offer, today only, you can purchase both at 10% off, while supplies last. There is more on that below, but let’s start out with a detailed peek at each one:

Our first kit is called Here & Now – it features 7 12 x 12 patterned papers, 4 12 x 12 sheets of colored cardstock, a transparency, alphas and stickers, a cute bag and a ton of Elle’s Studio goodies! 15 exclusive tags from us, that match and coordinate with all the kits contents. There is also an Elle’s Studio stamp and a set of 4 badges that were designed by us, but made by Evalicious!

This kit is perfect for documenting your special everyday moments and more! Here’s a closer look at what’s inside:

 Our next kit is called Everyday Moments and features 5 patterned 12 x 12 papers, including that amazing Dear Lizzy Crepe paper and the super fun Bank Statement paper from Jenni Bowlin! There are 3 12 x 12 sheets of colored cardstock, two sets of alphas and brads from Crate! The Elle’s Studio exclusive’s include 9 special tags, designed just for this kit and a fun stamp set with 4 stamps. This has to be one of my favorite set of stamps – I love the “important” stamp because if you stamp with a lighter color, it turns into a journaling tag!

Here is a closer peek at this kit:

Both kits are amazing and work so well together! That is why, today only, we are giving you 10% off when you purchase them both together! This deal is while supplies last, once these kits are sold out, we will not be restocking. 
We also have stocked some extra coordinating cardstock and extra patterned paper! Plus, make sure you check out our Extra Goods – most of them work perfectly with this kit! I highly recommend the Studio Calico Mister Huey’s and the Prima inks!
Alright, we hope you guys enjoy these kits and we can’t wait to see what you make with them!

p.s. Here’s a little peek of something fun that was made for the Crate blog with the kits! Check their blog today for the full reveal!

Project Life

Welcome to another week of Project Life! These weeks seem to be flying by and we are already well into Spring.   This week covers the week of April 2-8 which was the week of Easter and also our Spring Break week.
Sometimes when choosing my Project Life photos I find myself playing the “fair game”.  If you are a mom, you know exactly what I am talking about…. always striving for everything to be equal and fair when it comes to your children.   This concept is fine, but when it comes to Project Life I think it can really stress us out.
I have come to accept that there will just be weeks when I have more photos of one member of our family over another– and that is JUST FINE.  Some weeks contain more events for one specific family member.  If we always try to play the “fair game” we may be missing out on important stories.
When I choose Project Life photos there are a few things I think about.  I obviously look for photos that represent a story or event well.
We went to the zoo this week and I took a ton of photos during the day.  I narrowed it down to three photos for Project Life.  One of my daughter that I just love, one of the kids eating lunch (because we had a nice time relaxing and talking during lunch), and one I took of the three of us.   The day was more about spending time with the kids than seeing the animals- and that is what I decided to focus on through my photo selection.
I look for photos that are good (enough) quality and that are taken from an interesting angle.  If there is a portrait-like photo I love I often match it with a story from that week.  I did this on the front page with my son.  Sometimes a photo will remind me of a story from that week, and I will match the two together. 
I also love to look for interesting angles in photography and add it to Project Life.   I need to remind myself I don’t need to have my kids smiling at the camera for every single photo– it’s nice to have a variety!
Next week we are excited to welcome another wonderful Project Life Special Guest!!   I’ll give you a hint– she lives on the west coast of the United States… Any guesses??? šŸ˜‰
We have a winner from last week’s giveaway- congrats to Angie Gutshall!   Send us an email at info@shopellesstudio.com with the following info:
Name:
Address:
Prize: Project Life 4/10
We are giving away another $10 Elle’s Studio Gift Certificate!  Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win– we will announce the winner next Tuesday!

Sneak peek of our upcoming kit!

 

Are you ready for something fun? We’ve got a new kit, with a special add-on debuting this Wednesday!

They are perfect for documenting everyday life and more! And of coarse, we’ve got some exclusive tags and stamps in each one, plus one of the kit has something extra special and exclusive! There’s a sneak of that in the photo above šŸ™‚

These kits are a limited and once they sell out we will not be restocking! So if you want to snag one or both, make sure you mark your calendar and stop by are site at 9:00 am PST this Wednesday!

Make It Sunday with Sheri Twing!

Hi everyone! I’m Sheri Twing and I live in Nashville, Tennessee with my husband, Rick and our big baby, Max, a 100 lb Golden Retriever. We have one daughter, Ashley, who is 23 and recently married so life has definitely changed for us.  I have been scrapbooking for 15+ years. I love how it has evolved over the years. I’ve always been passionate about photos and getting the stories behind the photos, which is what drove me to start scrapbooking years ago.   I have been on several different design teams, one being Elle’s Studio, of course.  You can find my blog here.  I’m thrilled to be sharing my project with you today!

My niece just had her 2nd birthday party a couple weeks ago. When I saw this photo, I knew it was the one I wanted to use for this layout.

Here’s how it all came together:

1. I wanted a white background but I also wanted to have some pop of color. So I used a punchinella stencil template from Balzer Designs for Crafters Workshop, Claudine Helmuth Studio paint in Classic Teal, and then some Adirondack Paint Dabber in Sunshine Yellow.

2. I then began arranging my first layer of Elle’s Studio tags how I wanted them to appear under the photo. I began with Elle’s Studio Collected Large Journaling Tags and Elle’s Studio One and Only Note Tags.

3. After applying my photo, I began adhering the rest of the labels I wanted to use on my layout. I used Elle’s Studio Collected Cutouts, and Elle’s Studio One and Only Strips.  After my tags were applied I adhered my letters. I used Bella Blvd Family Dynamix and Jillibean Soup’s Alphabeans letter stickers.

A tip for applying letters:  Use a piece of waxed paper, apply your letters to it and then you can move it around the page to find out exactly how and where you want to apply your title before actually adhering them on your layout. Works great!

4. I then used Elle’s Studio Bright Pennants tags and Elle’s Studio Collected Tiny Tags (I cut the ā€œLove Thisā€ piece from a journaling tag)  to create a little embellishment at the top of my layout.  I then added the Heidi Swapp Sequin Disco Heart. I added a scallop circle around the ā€œ2ā€ to highlight her 2nd birthday.

Our Make It Sunday blog series has been taken over by past members of our design team! We are so excited to see their work featured again, here at our site! Look for a different past design team member each week. 

The 12 hr Creative Crop with Big Picture Classes!

Make sure you sign up to take part in Big Picture Classes and Creating Keepsakes Magazine’s “Creative Crop” on National Scrapbooking Day, May 5th. The online event will kick-off Saturday, May 5th at 9am PST. You can look forward to 12 jam-packed hours offering creative challenges every hour, live chats with industry professionals, amazing giveaways, and constant inspiration and interaction!

And, it’s all completely FREE! Plus there will be chances to win some awesome prizes, including a couple Elle’s Studio prize packs!

So, don’t wait any longer – sign up here, today!

Sketch Thursday 04.12.12

Happy Thursday everyone! Today’s sketch is inspired by Kim‘s awesome Three layout from the March inspiration galley.

Meghann played along this week and created this beautiful layout:
She said: I loved the sketch, but I wanted to switch it up a bit and flip it so that it was vertical. I also used the circular element in a different way by misting a doily mask on my background. Switching the title to the opposite side of the sketch also made it more balanced.
We also have a super cute and fun layout from Valerie:
She said: I love sketches because they take a lot of the guess work out of putting a page together. For that reason I usually don’t stray far from the original concept. For my page, I angled the main elements so I could fit the large banner pieces on the paper and added a few extra layers in the photo area. The large One & Only Journaling tags are great for layering under photos!

I hope you are inspired to create!  If you do please post a link to your layout in the comments section of this post for a chance to win a $10 Elle’s Studio gift certificate. Link must be posted by 11:59pm on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.  Gift certificate can be used towards purchase of products only and can NOT be used for shipping charges. Gift certificate balance must be used in a single transaction. 
Last week’s winner is… Sophie! Thank you so much for playing along with us šŸ™‚

Please email the following information to info@shopellesstudio.com:
Name:
Contest: 04.05.12 Sketch

Project Life

This week’s Project Life covers the week of March 26- April 1.  It was the start of my daughter’s two week spring break from Preschool and a bunch of other fun activities.

As I was completing this Project Life layout, both of my kids were on Spring Break, we were participating in Easter activities, AND we were in the process of listing our house for sale.  That means not a lot of free time!!!   One of the comments on last week’s post asked how much time I spend on Project Life.   This got me thinking.  The answer varies, and it usually depends on how much is going on at the current moment.

For this week I challenged myself to complete my Project Life layout in under an hour (under an hour is FAST for me:).  I ended up completing it in just over an hour, but I was still very pleased that I was able to complete it from start to finish in a short amount of time.  

I believe that limiting your supplies– or at least having a stash specifically available for Project Life– will also help cut down your work time.   I keep all of my Elle’s Studio supplies together on my desk so that they are visible and ready to be used in Project Life or a layout.   
This has become my “Project Life” Station where I keep my Elle’s Studio supplies, pens, adhesive, date roller stamps, and scissors.  I also keep a few additional items I regularly use in my Project Life such as the Martha Stewart labels (from Staples), and the library/file folder cards by 7Gypsies (seen above with the instax photo on it).   It’s so nice to have it all in one place and accessible.   I can also take this tub to another room if I want to work on Project Life while we watch a movie, etc.

I also keep a stash of 6×6 paper pads in a wire container front and center on my desk for pattern paper options in Project Life.  I find that having endless options in paper choices can be overwhelming and might slow down the creating process.  Kits and paper pads are a great way to “limit” yourself to using only a few papers and complete your layout quickly!

Sometime try challenging yourself to creating a Project Life layout in a short amount of time.  No matter the time involved, it’s always rewarding to see a completed week in your album.

We have a winner from last week!  Congrats to LibraryBug !  Contact us at info@shopellesstudio.com with the following information:
Name:
Address:
Prize: Project Life April 3

We are giving away a $10 Elle’s Studio Gift Certificate!  Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win– we will announce the winner next Tuesday!

Project Life was created by Becky Higgins as a way to simplify how you document life and preserve memories. Photo pockets used in my Project Life album are created by Becky and can be found here.  You can read of all the Elle’s Studio Project Life posts here.

30% off all our digitals in our digi shop!

30% off all our digitals, this weekend only!

Don’t miss one of the biggest sales of the year – our entire digital/hybrid shop is on sale, this weekend only, to celebrate our designer spotlight at JessicaSprague.com.

We have over 100 digital items currently in the shop, but I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of my favorites:

Our Sweet Summer line is perfect for all those summer layouts – I love the colors in this line! This line contains 12 x 12 papers, journaling tags, circle journaling tags and tiny tags

These Chic Journaling tags are 3 x 4, so not only do they look good on your scrapbooking pages, they also fit in your Project Life page protectors! And, they come with a pdf file for easy printing. There’s a blank, moments and daily set with these.

These are also 3 x 4 and perfect for your scrapbooking pages and Project Life albums! There are six different colors and you have the option of both horizontal or vertical with each color. There is also a pdf file for easy printing! Add a title or saying at the top either before you print it out, or after with your stamps, alpha stickers or handwriting! Besides the 3 x 4 tags, there is also long journalers, circle tags and tabs in this line!

Last, but not least, our Patriotic line is another one of my favorites. These printables are perfect for your 4th of July decorations! They come as easy to print, pdf files and the best part is you can use them over and over! Make one for you and someone special! This line has a banner, goodie bags, and cupcake flags in it! We also have some patriotic journaling tags available in regular and vintage colors.

There’s lots more to see, you can check out the rest, here. Thanks for stopping by today and we hope you enjoy the digi sale!

Sketch Thursday 04.05.12

Welcome back to Sketch Thursday! This week’s sketch is a simple (but always wonderful) grid design.
I love grids because you can make them as simple or as complicated as you’d like. Add pictures, a tile and a few embellies… or create little pieces of art for each square. 

For my layout, I change it up a bit and did circles instead. I then filled them with papers, tags, tiny pictures and finished it by adding clouds and butterflies.

I love all the different patterns you can mix and match with grids… so fun and colorful!

Now it’s your turn and I can not wait to see what you all come up with!  Post a link to your layouts inspired by this sketch here for a chance to win a $10 Elle’s Studio gift certificate. Link must be posted by 11:59pm on Wednesday, April 11, 2012.  Gift certificate can be used towards purchase of products only and can NOT be used for shipping charges. Gift certificate balance must be used in a single transaction. 
Last week’s randomly selected winner is… Angie!

Congratulations, Angie! Please email the following information to info@shopellesstudio.com:
Name:
Contest: 03.29.12 Sketch

Project Life

It’s Tuesday, which means another week of Project Life here at Elle’s Studio!  Can you believe we are in the fourth month of the year???  This week I am sharing the week of March 19-25 in my Project Life album.

I have been challenging myself to find new ways to tell the little stories of our life through Project Life.  It’s easy for me to share the who, what, when, where, and why, (by creating a visual calendar) but lately I have been wanting to add a bit more to my weekly spreads.

This particular week, my son had a day off school on Monday, so on the first page, I journaled a bit about our day alone together (which included the lego store).  I also shared some side by side photos of a sunrise and sunset in front of our home during this week.

Inspiration can come from all different places, and this week it was my mailbox that offered all sorts of ideas for storytelling.  I don’t know about you, but I am super happy on those days when I open the mailbox and there is a magazine or catalogue waiting for me.

As I was going through a recent J Crew catalogue, this photo ad of various little girl shoes gave me the idea to document my daughters love of shoes (I could only wish she- or I- had that particular she collection!!).  She loves anything and everything from flashing tennis shoes to princess high heeled shoes.  This was the perfect way to tell a story of her love for shoes (and also tie in my love for catalogues).  Additionally, this is also a great way to document the style of shoes in today’s culture!

I took this idea one step further, and on the backside of the shoe insert, I created a simple grid of some of our favorite magazines and catalogues that come into our home.  I represented magazines that each member of the family enjoys.

This was super easy to make.  I used my 2″ square punch to punch a portion out of the cover of magazines and catalogues (most all of them include a portion of the magazine title).  I matted the grid with two different pattern papers, and used the Jenni Bowlin tab punch on kraft paper to create a visual triangle across the grid.

A few other elements I added to the back page was the place setting and menu at a friends wedding.  I found myself reaching for the various 6 x 6 paper pads that Elle has in the shop– they are just perfect for Project Life!!  (and did you see they are all this months special at 20% off??? Hurry and add them to your cart!!:)

We are giving away a $10 Elle’s Studio Gift Certificate!  Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win– we will announce the winner next Tuesday!

We have a winner from last week’s giveaway!   Congrats to Mandy (commenter #39)    Please send an email to info@shopellesstudio with the following info:

Name:
Address:
Prize:  Project Life March 27

Project Life was created by Becky Higgins as a way to simplify how you document life and preserve memories. Photo pockets used in my Project Life album are created by Becky and can be found here.  You can read of all the Elle’s Studio Project Life posts here.