Bring Your Own Sunshine...

Wherever you go, no matter the weather, always bring your own sunshine. ~ Anthony J. D'Angelo

Hi everyone! It's me... Julie Howard... and I'm bursting with sunshine and happiness! Granted, it's probably the metric ton of M&M's I just downed, followed by a chaser of Mountain Dew, but we're gonna say I'm all sunshiney over the fact that it's my turn to post a blog entry.

And hey... would you looky here. I just happened to bring my own sunshine!


It's pretty easy to bring sunshine to any scrapbook page with Nikki's Blueberry Hill collection. The color palette is so vibrant and luscious. I love the unique mix of purples and greens, with accents of yellow and red. There's a very summery, garden feel to the line. For me, it brings to mind picnics and lazy afternoons.

For my flower centers, I used the blueberry stickers that can be found on Nikki's Blueberry Hill Cardstock Sticker Sheet. To make them look a little more realistic and to give them a bit of dimension, while they were still affixed to the sheet, I gave them a coating of Judikins Diamond Glaze.


(*note* if you click on the Diamond Glaze link you can request a sample.)

Sunshine, Happiness and Diamond Glaze for everyone!

summer celebration

Jill, here, from the Willie Bee Diva House Design Team, enjoying the hot summer dayz in Manitoba and anticipating the beautiful harvest that is quickly approaching.

I strongly believe that you should always make time for celebrating -- birthdays, anniversaries, new born babies, and the list could go on endlessly. REALLY....... I could celebrate almost anything for no particular reason.

So........ I decided to create 2 different projects for this post that celebrate 2 different events of summer celebration.

The first project is a mini fabric album created to celebrate a wonderful Sunday afternoon spent with family -- using the 6x6 mini pads: Blueberry Hill & My Friend Birdie. I also used a few stickers on the cover and some journalling stickers throughout the pages of the album. Here's a little peek:

LOVE the little chipboard journalling tag (owl) on the back page of the album. I inked it with (pink) dye ink and then whitewashed some paint onto it. A bracket and some journalling complete the album.

The second project is a party invitation created from a pocket (actually it's the packaging from some of nikki's sticker collection). I've mixed a few different lines on this invitation (new & older): Blueberry Hill, My Friend Birdie & Bella's Cutie Cut-Ups.

Using the chipboard tree shape (from the chipboard albums), I snipped off the "trunk" to create the end of a balloon. With some paper from the My Friend Birdie mini pad, a few stickers, a stamp, some doodles & journalling, I set the balloon sailing with some ribbon -- it's tied to the bottom of the balloon and then taped inside the pocket.
I created a 3D flowers and attached it to the pocket with these corduroy brads -- they rock!!!! love ALL the colours!!!! Also used my pinking shear scissors around these fabulous labels.

Hope you find a little bit of end-of-summer inspiration here today.

enjoy,

jill

"Little Birdie" Layout and Mini Book!!!

Hi Everyone! Hope you are having a great Thursday! I wanted to share with you a fun layout I did with one of Nikki's new releases...

"My Friend Birdie!" I love this line!!!...The banners, the little chicks and the fun colors and I know you will too!!!

With this layout I used sketch #54 at Inspired Blueprints! This is of my son Mason and his friend Beau after they finished baseball camp this summer. All I could think of when I saw this photo was how CUTE they looked and how COOL they thought they were!!! The title came to me easily! LOL!

And a closeup...

I cut the banner out and gave it a little flip to create a little texture on the page.

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I am removing Jennifer's mini, as she has told us that it is getting published in the Scrapbook Trends February Issue!!! Wooooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooo!! CONGRATS Jennifer! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Jennifer Yates

Summer Lovin' (especially with Nikki's papers!)

Summer is in full swing and I have to say that being home in the summer with the kids makes it go a lot faster! We have had full days of playing in the sun and swimming in the pool! I am soaking it up because the cold weather will be upon us in Central New York before we know it! But for now, I'm loving Nikki's new line, Blueberry Hill for it's sunny colors and adorable designs! Here are a few of my creations with this line...

YUM! Blueberries
This layout used lots of pieces from the Blueberry Cut Ups sheet and the new stickers too! I love those so much! The alphabet letters are perfect for layouts, cards, and other projects!

I started the page with spraying glimmer mist (Sapphire) through a piece of used pop dots for the circles. I wanted to emulate a bunch of blueberries here. My son has found a new love of blueberries and is known to eat 1/2 of a pint in one sitting! I tore and layered papers to create texture. I also love using the die cut papers as embellishments too. I cut the matching one in half for the top right of the page. Layered with book paper and stickers, it adds a fun touch.
Sweet Sunshine

My 19 month old has been putting my sunglasses on and they are so big on his sweet little face that it always makes me smile! I love the "A Sunny Day for Blueberries" paper for this bright page. I layered half of a cardstock with a sprayed sun shape over it and cut a few strips from the collection for a simple and sunny design. The labels from the Cut Ups paper is perfect for journaling or beneath a title. Of course this page needed some clouds and suns pop-dotted for the final effect!!!

Sunflower

You've seen my last project for our July challenge. I used the sketch here but this paper was perfect to showcase my son's sunflower that indicates that it's almost time to go back to school! He was given the flower last year during the early summer months and was told that when it blooms, it will be very close to Kindergarten starting! He loved watching it grow and finally bloom and it made him even more excited to go to school. A year later, we are still enjoying the symbolism of this special flower. Nikki's Willow Bee line was absolutely perfect for the whole feel of the photo! I actually used the last scraps of my stash from this line! I just love it for summer and even fall layouts and cards.

I am looking forward to the remainder of the summer and the excitement that comes from going back to school and fall. I've been digging into some of the new lines and can't wait to share with you on my next blog post!! Until then, enjoy the sunny days!

XOXO

Jen

SHOWCASING MY FRIEND BIRDIE (and a lot more!!!)

SHOWCASING MY FRIEND BIRDIE

Hello everyone! When I received my package of Nikki Sivils' latest collections, I knew right away that I'm going to play with My Friend Birdie first as it's perfect for my kids' recent pictures.

My first layout features my daughter with her gang at a recent party that we attended (ain't the banners bring out the festive mood?!!!):

My second layout is about friendship - - a furry kind of love actually. ;o) Played a lot with circles, dimensions and layers on this one. Just a fun fact: I think this layout totally predicted the arrival of our new baby (gotta continue reading until the end of my post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). ;o)

My Friend Birdie is versatile enough to be used in non-friendship themed pages too. Here's a page of my son frolicking in the sun as an example!!!!


NIKKI SIVILS AND DIGITAL STAMPS

Just want to invite everyone to view my Nikki Sivils' creations over at Scrapstreet.com Magazine's this month. I got to work with Meljen Designs' digital stamps and I used Nikki Sivils' papers to complement the digital stamps' whimsical images!!! I used Henry's Brilliance in my CLIFFORD layout while I used Willow Bee in my HOWDY Card. Nikki Sivils' papers' versatility rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY NEW BABY

Just want to share too my new baby!!! He's Logan (aka Wolverine!!!!!), a mini-schnauzer (about 2 1/2 months old) that we got only this Saturday night at a local pet shop!!! We totally had no plans of getting a pet at this time (we were thinking next year when our house is fully constructed already!!!), but when my hubby and my kids saw him - - they just fell in love with him at first sight!!!! I just have to announce his arrival into our lives here at NS blog - - because I knew that you could all totally relate and share my happiness!!!!! Thanks for letting me share!!!! ;o)

Do expect Logan in my future Nikki Sivils' creations!!!!!!!!!! Until next time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have fun creating,
janis

Addicted to Nikki's papers

When I first saw the new papers in real life I didn't want to cut them up or anything. I just wanted to look at them. But when I started using them, I just couldn't stop. They are so versatile!

When you stalk our blog ( and I hope you do!) you have seen lots of great inspirational work. And I have 2 layouts to show you as well.

My first layout is with 'My Friend Birdie'

I love the new Cardstock stickers! And also all the nice titles you can cut out of a sheet from this collection. A perfect collection! You can see that immediately.

My second layout is with Blueberry Hill.

Another layout where I cut out those nice title words. A bright and happy paper collection. I think I will do a mini album with this collection very soon!! You will definately see it on the blog.

Talking about mini albums. I recently created a mini album. I used the Tag Chipboard Album. With this mini album I used the paper collection: Ellie's Day Out.

I thought I show it to you blog readers as well....

Thank you all for looking!!

Hilde Janbroers

August Guest Designer Monique Liedtke

My name is Monique Liedtke and I live in The Netherlands, with my husband of 14 years and out 3 kids: Manon 13, Timothy 10 and Mats 5. It will be no surprise that they are the main focus of my scrapping. I’ve been a SAHM for almost 5 years, but as of the beginning of October last year I was lucky to find a job in a little HRM office. Here I can work during school hours and it’s only a stone’s throw away from my home and the kids’ school!

I started scrapbooking about 7 years ago and became addicted straight away! Ever since I have my own scrap corner in our living room I scrap every free minute I have!! I just love being creative and that it makes me so much more “aware” of all those “little” things than I was before I started scrapping. I find it hard to describe my scrapbook style but my favorite techniques are definitely sewing and stamping. Furthermore I love to use lots of embellishments and lots of different papers and colors.

A few of my other hobbies are: reading, travelling, watching (British) detective series and walking (with our Cocker Spaniel). I’m a volunteer at my kids’ school library and I help out in the local scrapbook store regularly.

Ever since I laid my eyes on Nikki Sivils’ designs I fell in love with them. I think I have them all! I’m so happy to be her Guest Designer!!!

For the first two layouts I used Ellie’s Day Out. I love the soft pastel colors of this line which are just perfect for the photos of my daughter!

Also with Ellie’s Day Out is this card I made for my friend’s birthday.

This layout I made with “U R My Favorite”. I used one of the few photos I have of myself with my kids.

And last but not least I created this photo box, which was actually a box filled with Prima flowers. I painted it with white crackle and decorated it with “My Sweet Cherry Pie” and “Henry’s Brilliance” and 5 b/w photos.

Birds and Beauties...

Hey ALL!!! Delaina posting here with you today. I am so glad to be here with Nikki for another term...Just gotta THANK her one more time! She is the sweetest! Really!

I have been playing with a few of the new collections and having a blast. My first creation I made using the My Friend Birdie Collection...and I absolutely scrapped a few Birds. This a my son and his closest friends making a video for their senior class. These pics crack me up. A few of these boys don't hardly talk above a whisper and here they are in my front yard "getting down"....lol! As soon as I saw this collection I knew what to scrap first...I just love the little birdies!

Here are the Beauties....this is my sweet daughter and and her best friend at camp this summer...I used the "Blueberry Hill" to create this LO. I love the vibrant colors in this collection.

HapPy ScRaPpiN!!!

Hooray for flag banners!

Just the other day, I was joking that one day I'd look back in our scrapbooks & say, "Oh yeah, that's when I was loving flag banners," because every other page in the scrapbook would have them on there in some way, shape or form. LOL! But how can you NOT love them? I, for one, was pretty happy to see that there were flag banners in the new My Friend Birdie line and have used them in many ways.

Just a small banner at the top corner helps to balance out the design on this page...

On this next one, I cut out the flags to use them as the sun's rays & then I added a mini banner to my journaling spot...

Who says you can't make a flag banner a clothes line? I'm also a bit addicted to my punches lately. That will be another thing I say to myself as I'm looking through scrapbooks in the future... "Oh & that's when I LOVED my punches!" I used punches to make my tree, the fence & even the bottom of my dress...

You don't have flag banner paper? No problem! I used my star punch & some bakers twine to make my own flag banner with the Blueberry Hill line. I'm LOVING the bright & bold color combo in that line. (And I really LOVE the clouds & suns, too!) So FUN!

Happy creating & have a GREAT weekend!

Hugs...
Deana

Tree Love and Card Love

I love making cards and Nikki Sivils newest lines are perfect to do just that. In each line are the perfect combination of patterned papers and embellishments.

My first card, "Falling For You", was so fun to make. Isn't the little beaver just the cutest? I mean, who wouldn't fall for him? Well you will certainly fall for Nikki Sivils new line Tree Love. I have made a couple of cards using Tree Love that I would like to share with you. You are going to love the wonderful, warm, rich colors in the patterned paper. The beaver is part of the cutout page and I thought it was perfect to have him holding one of Nikki Sivils craft flags. The sentiment is also part of the cutout page and there are many more as well.

My second card, "Miss You", was also created using the cutout page from Tree Love. See I told you that there is a lot on there. :) Love the little tree panel. It is the cutest and you actually get two of them on that page in different colors. And then there is that cute little beaver again in a smaller size. I have him standing on a bunch of logs made from Nikki Sivils brown corduroy buttons. They are the cutest!!! I hope you love Tree Love as much as I do. I know it will make you smile as much it does me.

The Big Picture...

Hi all its me, Nikki! I hope everyone is having a great August! I am but its so hot that you can't be outside and I love being out side (and I have this big beautiful German Shepherd that would like to be with me outside all the time too but its too hot for both of us)! I've never been more ready for fall!!

I've been slammed with work, Dan had to go out of town for 4 days, Lanie and Catlin went on vacation last week and part of this week so its really been about all I can handle! Then at one point I was getting all kinds of things done when I realized I was barely making a dent! Then at another point this weekend I thought "hey I don't need these people" I can do all of this and run this entire company all by myself, then yesterday I was in tears freaking out over an order trying to get it shipped and it wasn't working right (or I wasn't doing it right) and I thought if I didn't need Dan and Laine so much I was going to kill them both when they got back to work! So "the big picture" was that I do need help, that I can't do it all, that its perfectly fine to want and ask for help!

I was a guest blogger yesterday at "The Big Picture Scrapbooking" blog and had a great time blogging and wanted to share my blog entry with you all. You can see it here: Big Picture Scrapbooking Check out all the other guest bloggers too, they have some great ideas and stories!

They are having a Big Festival that starts this week, here is the info for the Festival...

Join us for the Big Idea Festival!

Are you looking for some fun and free inspiration? Then join us for the Big Idea Festival at Big Picture Scrapbooking!

Each summer, Big Picture Scrapbooking hosts a free online event packed full of ideas and layouts created by their instructors. This year, in addition to all of the inspiration, there will also be daily challenges and tons of prizes. Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker is proud to be sponsoring the event, and you could win some of our wonderful products!

What are you waiting for? Registration is free and easy! Click here for the full details (http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/summerfun10.php).

We hope to see you at the Big Idea Festival!

I also wanted to share some pics with you all...

Bella & I went to a "Bring your Dog" event here in Springfield and we got our picture taken for a charm that will be on a neckless! I can't wait to get it!

Sorry for the small picture but its from my iPhone, this is my niece, Victoria, we took her for ice cream tonight! She fills me with so much love!!
This is Nico.... my big bad baby!! Hee Hee... just kidding, he may be the best dog in the world! I adore him! He loves to snuggle....
This is my life long friend, Birdie, she came to town for a visit and we had a great dinner together! I miss her so much!! This is the friend that inspired my newest collection "My Friend Bridie"!!

Goodnight all! Have a great rest of the week! -Nikki

Cards,cards,cards!

Hello Everyone!
Carina here, and i have a few cards to show you today.
I have had so much fun playing with the new lines, they are all just wonderful.

First up are three cards using the "My friend Birdie"-collection.

'Best friend' -card

Supplies: Paper-Fly high. sentiment & banner cut-outs

The large banner i cut out from the "Birdie cut-ups" sheet and the smaller i cut out from the 6x6 paper pad "Fly high" paper.

'Hi'-card
Supplies: Papers- Jilly Bird,Birdie Border Strips. Alpha stickers

For this card i used the "jilly Bird" 6x6 paper as the cardbase.

'Friends'-card

Supplies: Papers-Birdie Crossing,Shake a Tail Feather. Cut-out sheet. Cardstock stickers

And now we are moving on to the "Blueberry Hill" collection.

'Hey sunshine'-card

Supplies: paper-My blueberry apron. sun & cloud cut-outs. Tiny alpha stickers.owl sticker.

'Friends'-card Supplies: papers-Blueberry basket,Pickin´blueberries, sentiment & leaf cut-outs

All the papers i used for these cards comes from the 6x6 paper pads.
That´s all from me today.

I hope you have a great day!

/ Carina ♥