Design Team Inspirations

The beginning of a new month means a new Design Team Inspirations post. This month the design team was inspired by Zarah who created this gorgeous layout below. The design team took her original layout and drew some inspiration from it to create their own.

Here is Zarah's layout. Zarah said, "Very Swedish, in the colour of our flag. Basically, a small declaration of my love for this place."
Sweden

And now on to what the design team created. First up is Larissa.

Larissa said, "I adore Zarah´s layout! I really think this is one of the most beautiful layouts I´ve ever seen! I love how simple it is, but pure poetry! Every bit of this is fantastic, but I especially like her color combo inspired by the Swedish flag colors, her panoramic small photos and the movement she added to the page. Congrats, Zarah, your work is amazing. My layout, Lonely Road, tries to make some poetry too. I scraplifted her background papers, the small panoramic photos idea, the movement and colors, but added my fun touch."

Lonely Road by Larissa Albernaz

Kat said, "I was inspired by Zarah's design, with the flowing flowers over the page,and the little date at the top right corner - so simple, but something I've not thought to add! Oh oh, and that rolled corner, gorgeous."

Delight by Kat Glossop

Tonya said, "I loved the rolled back paper. The way she scattered all of those little embellies is fabulous! I tried to incorporate that without it looking so much like a copy job."

Reach for the Sky by Tonya Dirk

Staci said, "I was inspired by the scattering of flowers on this gorgeous layout. Instead of flowers, I used butterflies to try to recreate a similar effect."

Dancing Queen by Staci Taylor

And then there is this layout by Karen Grunberg. Karen said, "I loved all the layers and distressing in the layout. I loved the long rectangular photos, too. I didn't have photos like that so I used patterned paper to create the same effect."

The Joy of Play by Karen Grunberg

Last, but not least, is this layout by Rachel Hall.

Rachel said, "Of course I was immediately inspired by Zarah's use of embellishments with her spray of flowers across her page and just had to replicate it with a bunch of punched out butterflies! I am also a fan of how she used two similar photos and the way that she placed them on her layout and thought it was the perfect placement for some wallet sized prints. Thank you for the inspiration, Zarah!"

Simply Enchanting by Rachel Hall

Thanks to Zarah for the inspiration and thanks to the design team for playing along. If you would like to see the design team get inspired by your work all you have to do is create and be sure to upload to the gallery. We are always on the look out for fresh inspiration!

Design Team Challenge with Kat Glossop!

Hi there! The June kit, "Summer Breeze" debuted yesterday and with that we have a new challenge hosted by Kat Glossop.

Your challenge is to create a layout based on this sketch designed by Rachel Hall and to post that layout by June 21st in our gallery and in the challenge thread. A winner will receive a $10.00 gift certificate to the store as well as an assortment of vintage trims to be shipped with your order.


June kits are making their way to your door as we speak. You don't have to use your kit, but the monthly challenge is a great way to spark your creativity and put those kits to good use! Remember, you have until June 21st, so get scrapping!

June Kit is Here!!

Happy 1st of June! You know that means a new kit, so here she is! "Summer Breeze" is packed full of lots of product from a wide variety of manufacturers and lots of fun embellishments! Have a look below.

"Summer Breeze" June 2010 Kit

Here are the kit contents:
Papers:
1 Fancy Pants Wishful Thinking Paper
1 Pink Paislee Queen Bee Diecut Paper
1 Jenni Bowlin Paper
2 Websters Pages Lullaby Lane Papers
2 October Afternoon Fly A Kite Papers
1 October Afternoon Thrift Shop Paper

Embellishments:
American Crafts Flocked Thickers Alphabet
1 pack American Crafts Dear Lizzy Dimensional Stickers
3 October Afternoon Fly A Kite Journaling Cards (will vary with each kit)
October Afternoon Thrift Shop Rubons
Prima Velvet Bluebird Flower Bouquet
Jenni Bowlin Yellow Butterfly & Alpha Stickers
1 roll Pink Paislee Green & White Tape
1 October Afternoon Fly A Kite Cardstock Sticker Shapes
1 yard AMM sea blue twine
1 yard AMM cream venise trim

You can pick up your kit here. or better yet, sign up for a subscription. You won't want to miss all the new CHA product that will be packed into coming kits. I can't believe CHA Summer is right around the corner!

Member Monday with Karen Grunberg

Happy Memorial Day and welcome to a new Member Monday. Here to share her selection with us is Karen Grunberg. She chose this layout by Lori Gentile.

"This Mother Sees You" by Lori Gentile


Leave Lori some love on this post and be sure to visit her AMM gallery for more inspiration.

Just as a side note, our regularly scheduled blogging will resume after the design team call.

June Guest Designer Revealed!!

I am so excited to introduce you to our June Guest Designer, Cheryl Ametewee! Over a month ago, I was chatting with Rachel and told her I was in search of some fresh faces and talent to be our Guest Designers. She directed me to the blog of this fantastic designer she followed. I clicked on Cheryl's blog and was so impressed. Her photography of her little ones was so inspiring and I really just loved her style. So I was super excited when she agreed to be our guest designer this month. Look for her creations with the June kit coming soon. In the meantime, have a look below at some samples of her work and read her little bio to get to know her better.


Get To Know Cheryl!
Hi! i'm Cheryl Ametewee and I'm so excited to be the guest designer for AMM this month! I am a stay at home mama to 2 little lovies who we like to call londerpants (19 months) and gracie*belle (3 months) and wife to Nate, my Ghana born prince. We live in DC in an apartment that is always in the middle of some kind of art project...from scrapbooking, to painting, to jewelry designing, there is very rarely a day that goes by when I don't do some kind of art. I currently design for Jenni Bowlin and you can find me on my blog at www.cherylmanz.typepad.com. I am also founder of a new handmade art blog that will go live on June first...come check us out at www.cartwheelsinmymind.com. :)

This layout Cheryl created just for our blog announcement! I love the gorgeous and vibrant color!
"XO"



"Cherish First Home"


"I Love You Gracie"

Please give a big warm AMM welcome to Cheryl! Stay tuned for her designs with the June kit. Be sure to stop by her blog for even more inspiration!

June Kit Sneaks!

Have a peek at our June kit below. This is only a portion of all the fab goodies packed into this kit. It includes new Jenni Bowlin, Webster's, October Afternoon and more. You won't want to miss out on this "Summer Breeze". Look for the full reveal on the 1st. You can sign up for a kit subscription here.

May Challenge Winner!

Congratulations to our May Design Team Challenge winner. Larissa, the hostess of this challenge selected the layout below by Guiseppa Gubler, also known as "seppa" on the boards. Congrats. Guiseppa will win a $10.00 AMM store gift certificate as well as a selection of vintage trims to be shipped with her order.



Look for the June sketch and challenge coming June 1st!

Technique Tuesday with Rachel Hall

Who doesn't have a mess of buttons hoarded in jars in their scrap space? I know I have a ton of buttons. During our National Scrapbook Day Crop, Rachel showed us 7, yes 7 different techniques for creating some handmade flowers for your projects using materials you probably already have lying around. Here is just one of her techniques for using up your button stash. You know you will always find more buttons to hoard to replace them.

This technique was featured during our NSD Crop. You can see the rest of Rachel's flowers here.

Button Flower

Materials Needed:
large brad
buttons

chipboard circle

adhesive

1. Cut a chipboard circle that is slightly larger than the diameter of your brad. Poke hole in the center of the chipboard circle for your brad to go though.

2. Adhere buttons to the outside perimeter of the chipboard circle.

3. Let dry. Place brad through the hole you poked in the chipboard to create the center of your flower.

Wouldn't these look adorable hot glued to a little girl's hair tie or hair clip or even as the center of a larger flower. Have fun playing with different sizes and color combinations. Be sure to check out the rest of Rachel's flower tutorials.

Member Monday with Staci Taylor

Happy Member Monday blog readers! This week's Layout of the Week was chosen by Staci Taylor. She chose the layout below by Tara Orr.

"Wedded Bliss" by Tara Orr

How about getting to know Tara a little better. Read on for a little interview Staci had with Tara.

1. Can you explain the process you used to design this layout? I guess the main inspiration for the project was drawn from the photo itself. I wanted to keep it soft and romantic so I chose the softer peaches and neutral colours that would compliment her skin tone. I fell in love with the die cut from Anna Griffin and knew it was meant for a wedding layout. Lots of layering and distressing of the papers helped to tie in with the whole shabby chic feel.

2. Do you have a favorite color combination to use when scrapping? Hmmm, I don't have a favourite colour combo per se, I tend to be drawn more to the actual paper itself - its pattern, colour, texture, etc. If I totally fall in love with a particular patterned paper I try to match complimentary papers to it and then photos as well. I do tend to be drawn to the more 'washed out' and 'worn' looking types of papers with a comfy sort of feel. Definitely a rustic/vintage kind gal.

3. What is a scrappy item that you could not live without? I love to add flowers to my layouts and really enjoy fussy cutting certain elements within patterned papers but the one item I simply could not do without is my edge scraper - JUST LOVE IT!

4. You mentioned that your layout was a gift for your brother and sister-in-law. What was their reaction when you gave it to them? My sister in law seemed quite pleased with the layout saying, "Wow, you should charge people for this kind of thing - it's so beautiful." (Wouldn't that be nice eh?). My brother in law gave the typical guy response of, "Yea, its nice." ... Um, yea - you're welcome (LOL).

Thanks for the inspiration ladies. Leave Tara some love on this post of on her layout in the gallery by clicking the layout title above.