Member Monday with Mia Caniza

This week we have a Layout of the Week pick from Mia Caniza who chose the layout below by Birgit Moosbauer (BirgitM.). Mia said, "I absolutely loved the funky style of this page as well as Birgit's use of the corrugated base, color & misting."

"Pink" by Birgit Moosbauer

Mia had a little interview with Birgit. Read on to get to know this newcomer a little better.

1. When did you start scrapbooking? I started scrapbooking 4 years ago.

2. What three supplies could you not scrap without? Patterned paper, buttons, & distress ink.

3. What is your favorite part about scrapbooking? I just love it. It gives me a way to express my feelings and it is a very good way to document my family's lives.

4. What are your favorite products or manufacturers? There are so many products I love. At the moment I prefer all products of Prima. The papers and embellishments are great. I also love Graphic45 and Jenni Bowlin.

Thanks Mia and Birgit!

Little Something Sunday with Lucy Edson

Please enjoy this little video from Lucy Edson on how to embellish your stick pins!

So cute! Just click play!



You can pick up some of the Maya Road pins Lucy used in her video, right here, here, and here. Remember, orders over 40 dollars get FREE shipping!

Thanks so much Lucy!

Manufacturer Spotlight-Cosmo Cricket

Cosmo Cricket has got to be one of the most generous manufacturers out there. With each new line they produce they always sponsor the A Million Memories Design team and their newest releases were no exception. Here is some of what the design team did with the "Jolly By Golly" and "Earth Love" collections.

"Dolly & Me" by Jennifer Findlay-Using Earth Love This one is based on a sketch at 52 Sketches 52 Weeks. I placed the cardstock circle sticker on top of a piece of chipboard to give it more dimension then adhered it to this patterned paper flower cut with the Slice.


"Enjoy" by Lucy Edson-Using Earth Love I love the patterned paper strips and punched strips Lucy added to the right side of this page as well as the smaller index size photos she used underneath her focal picture.


"Let It Snow" by Rachel Hall-Using Jolly By Golly Rachel is the queen of handstitching but paired with the beautiful misting this layout is a stunner! The ripped and curled edges of the patterned paper give this layout great texture as well.


"Yes I Am" by Staci Taylor Using Earth Love This layout by Staci is so awesome because of how she incorporated the spinner into the layout. it really gives prominence to her circle shaped picture and drives the theme home.


"Know This" by Staci Cohen-Using Earth Love Staci knocked this one of the park with her layered circles. This layout was used in our Anniversary crop and is based on a sketch by Staci herself. I love the journaling inside eh circle as well and the centered photo.


If you want to see more of what the design team did with these two lines have a peek at the Design Gallery here. There are many more projects there and coming soon. Thanks to Cosmo Cricket for sponsoring the design team and for being sponsor in our Anniversary Cop!

November Design Team Scraplift!

Each month the several members of the design team scraplifts one layout from the gallery from members like you. As much as we may inspire you, the members of A Million Memories are the true inspiration. So to celebrate what make AMM great, the members, here is a new design team scraplift for the month of November.

The design team decided to lift the layout below created by Amy Tara Koeppel. Here is her layout of her youngest son's hospital picture using October Afternoon's "Duck's In A Row".

"L" - baby by Amy Tara Koeppel

And here are the lifts from the design team. First up is Rachel Hall who said, "What I loved most about Amy Tara's layout was the layering and I was inspired to replicate that look in my own layout, adding visual interest to my page. I also adored that little touch of the tied string across some of the layers along side the photo and incorporated it into my page."

"You Are Dearest To Me" by Rachel Hall

Next up is new design team member Staci Taylor who said, "When I first saw Amy Tara's gorgeous layout, I was inspired by her layering of different papers. I loved the little charms she hung from her layout, and I also loved how she included the little card on there. Thanks for the inspiration, Amy!"

"Gabby & Kirby" by Staci Taylor

Next is another new design team member's interpretation, Kat Glossop who said, "The first thing that jumped out at me was the design, I loved that it was in the top corner, and the photo wasn’t huge either, yet the whole page still looked balanced. Then there’s the layered paper, the use of the Prima packaging, the string through the eyelets – the whole page is put together so beautifully."

"The 2 of Us" by Kat Glossop

Next is Design Team Coordinator, Tonya Dirk's, layout. Tonya said, "I was inspired by all of her layers of paper and the embellishment that is centrally focused."

"Life is Beautiful With You In It" By Tonya Dirk

Next is my layout. I was really taken with the amount of layering and how it didn't over power the photo at all. I used the October Afternoon Road Map Collection for this lift about my dad as my navigator.

"My Personal GPS" by Jennifer Findlay

And lastly is Mia Caniza's lift. Mia said, "I was inspired by the amazing layering in the layout, the placement of some of the elements & as well as the use of fancy edges. I also took inspiration in the polka dots here as well as the different patterns she used."

"Just Desserts" By Mia Caniza

Come back next month for another new lift!

November Kit Design Team Reveal

The November kit, "Pretty Little Pieces" is on sale now and the design team has begun to upload their beautiful projects to inspire you.

First up is Design Team Coordinator, Tonya Dirk.

"What I See" By Tonya Dirk This is my favorite layout ever by Tonya, I love the colorful misting and how she layered the American Crafts chipboard frames over top of patterned paper, over top of the Hambly doilies. This gives her layout such great dimension.


"Free Spirit" by Stacy Cohen Stacy did a breathtaking job with this layout. I love her cluster of flowers. You'll see that in some of her flowers, she popped the center out, the bud part, which made her flowers last a little longer and added variety to the sizes. I also love the repeated photo in the different sizes.


"My Beautiful Girl" by Michelle Quinn Michelle added some great layering under her picture with the vintage doily peeking out. I also love how her photo takes center stage in this design.


"With All My Heart" by Karen Grunberg Karen wows us once again with this stunner, focusing on the journaling. I love the visual triangle she created with the rubons and pebbles and the subtle texture from the layered punched strips.

"Behind the Glass" by Jeni Boisvert New to the design team, Jeni doesn't disappoint with this beautiful layout. I love how she has her title and picture a little askew in this layout and her gorgeous handmade embellishments. Instructions for those are coming soon and can be found on the boards.

"Our Bond" by Jennifer Findlay And last is my little contribution to this month's gallery. I used a border punch to make that paper lace that runs along the bottom of my photo. I will be posting some super simple instructions for that soon.

If you want to see more of what the design team has done with the kit check out the Design Gallery here.

Design Team Challenge With Larissa Albernaz

Whoever knows my work, knows that I get inspiration from fairy tales and short stories such as Peter Pan, the Little Prince and Alice in Wonderland. I love challenging my creativity bringing these themes to tell my own stories. It makes it possible for me to make fun of my own mistakes or to reflect on how time flies and life is short and full of happiness or emotions!

Nowadays, nothing has inspired me as much as the circus theme. So I´m challenging you to create any project using this theme to decorate a page layout, an altered art, whatever you want. You can see my examples here:

To enter this challenge be sure to upload your project to the gallery and Larissa's challenge thread here.

Technique Tuesday with Larissa Albernaz!

Product Demo: Anna Griffin Flora Paper Collection
Today I´ll show you one mixed media project where you can use these Anna Griffin Flora collection of papers.

You can find it at the store here. They added a pretty vintage touch to my corset.

Save these to your computer and print. Re-size as necessary.

1. First, you have to trace the corset shape on the back of the paper like shown in the picture.

2. Trace this shape twice in two different patterned papers.

3. Trace this other shape twice and cut it out from two different patterned papers.

4. Cut out one piece of cardboard to give your project stability. Here you can see all that you need.

5. Now, let´s put everything together. First the outside like shown in the pictures.

6. Then the inside part where you can put your journaling or whatever you want.

7. Cut a strip from another patterned paper.

8. Spread a thin layer of gesso on the corset and glue the folded strip.

9. Make holes to enable the ribbon to pass through them.

10. Add laces on the corset sides and embellish as you like.

Member Monday with Stacy Cohen

A new week and a new Layout of the Week, and this week we have a layout from Stacy Cohen. Stacy chose this layout by Bethany Kartchner, "Cutie Patootie". Here is what Stacy had to say about choosing this layout.

"Bethany’s layout just jumped out at me in the gallery. It was the bright, beautiful colors that first caught my eye. But when you look closer there’s so much more to see. I just adore the handmade flowers, and I love the all the different textures and mediums Bethany used on the page . . . including alcohol inks and mists. Bethany layouts are always so full of cool techniques, and this one is no exception!"

Here is a little Q & A I did with Bethany:

1. How long have you been scrapbooking? Since 1995. I did my first scrapbook at the kitchen table in college. It was of my internship in Belgium the summer before. I was so proud of it!

2. How long does it typically take you to finish a layout? It depends on how much time I have! I'm normally a very slow scrapper because I don't have big blocks of time and I get interrupted a lot. I'd say it normally takes me about 3-5 hours per layout. Of course, that varies with the degree of detail. I recently completed a layout in less than 2 hours and I was quite proud of that achievement!

3. How would you describe your style? Whimsical freestyle.

4. What are your “must haves” when it comes to scrapping? Cardstock, chipboard, Mod Podge, buttons, paint or mists, my pens and my sewing machine

5. Tell us one (or two or three) of your guilty pleasures? Hot chocolate, caffeine free diet soda and being alone in my studio.

Be sure to leave Bethany some love on this post here or on her layout in the gallery here. You can get more inspiration from her entire gallery here.

November Kit Revealed

The November Kit-"Pretty Little Pieces"

Papers:

3 Basic Grey Papers

2 Pink Paislee Papers

1 Prima Sew Cute Paper

2 Prima Wink Papers

Embellishments:

Prima Sequins Centers (5)

1 Prima Clear Journaling Stamp

Hambly White Doily Rubons

6 Prima Winged Animal Pebbles

1 pack Prima Trellis Roses

American Crafts Frames Pack

American Crafts Fabric Thickers

AMM vintage rose buttons

1 yard AMM vintage cream lace trim

1 yard AMM vintage scallop trim

1 different sized soft green paper doilys

You can get yours here, or even better, sign up for a membership and save! We'll be back soon with projects from the design team using the kit and a new monthly feature!