October Sincerely

 October is such a wonderful time of year!  After a long, hot summer, the cooler temps in October and the wonderful changing colors get me really excited for the upcoming holidays....including Halloween!  So this month for Sincerely, we're focusing on Halloween cards.  

Designed by Debbie Budge

We have a lot of fun Halloween ideas and cards in our blog already and on our Facebook page, so I tried to think outside the box and come up with more fun ways to use our Designer Templates!  This card measures 8 by 5 1/2 inches.  I wanted to focus on a witch's hat and broom, and it turned out really cute!  I made the border using Mini Strips and Mini Abbie.  For the witch's hat I used the Tiny Shapes set...the larger oval and rounded triangle, trimmed with some ribbon.  Super easy to do!  Then I really wanted to make a witch's broom, and the Tiny Tags worked great!  I used the Tiny Tags 6T for the body of the broom, clipped to make it look like bristles.  I wanted a crooked stick feel for the handle, so I used Happy Trails 1B and traced it twice to get the size handle I was looking for.  Then I wound some string around the handle just where it joined the broom.  It turned out really cute and took no time at all to do!

Designed by Debbie Budge

Next I used some Halloween paper from my stash to make this card.  I was messing around with the maple leaf template from the Tiny Holiday set and realized I could make a different kind of ghost from it.  Remember when your little ones would put a sheet over their heads and pretend to be ghosts?  That's the feeling I was looking for and the maple leaf was perfect, with the addition of some googly eyes...so cute!  I tucked a tiny pumpkin right up next to the ghost from the Tiny Holiday set also and added a Halloween strip over the top of them.  Behind the pumpkin and ghost I tucked a border from the Sentiments card border set.  

Designed by Gail Owens

Gail Owens, one of our wonderful design team members, created the next two cards for us this month.  

This card measures 5 x 7 inches and uses the following supplies:

Templates

Holiday 4T, 5T

Spook 1A

Shapes 7T, 37

Celebrate 5

Wacky 2T 

PAPER AMERICAN CRAFTS

Pearls doodlebug

twine- lily belles paperie on etsy

Designed by Gail Owens

4x6 card

Paper American Crafts paper and brads

ink-Ranger

twine-lilly Belles Paperie on etsy

templates

spook alley 1a

holiday 5t

Both Gail and I had a lot of fun designing our Halloween Cards.  What can you come up with?  We'd love to see!  Be sure to share your own creations with us on our Facebook page.  

September Sincerely - Back to School

It's that time of year again...Back to School time!  I love shopping for school supplies and I love the cooler mornings and Fall smells that this time of year brings here in Idaho.  This month for our Sincerely segment, we are focusing on Back to School ideas for cards.  And just for fun, I used my DTs to cover this composition book...so easy and quick!  I cut a piece of paper to fit the cover and used my corner rounder to round the edges to match the book.  I used the Tags set, Tiny Accents, Tiny Brackets, Tiny Tags and Adventure to decorate it.  And now...for the cards!

Designed by Debbie Budge

Gail Owens, one of our Design Team members, has created some adorable cards with our Back to School theme in mind, so be sure to take a look at all of them closely...they are so cute!

Supplies: patterned paper, stamp (Imaginisce); card stock (Provo Craft, Bazzill); ink (Ranger, Tsukinedo); alphabet stickers (DCWV); ribbon (Offray); circle punch (EK Success)

Kiwi Lane Templates: Thoughtful 2B, Tiny Wacky 3T, Tiny Accents 4T, Tiny Tags 3T, Adorn 2A

For this card, I stamped the notebook paper on white card stock, cut it out and added letter stickers.  I also made a pencil using layers of the same template shape. First, cut a full tag shape out of cream colored paper This serves as the base for all your layering and ends up only showing the tip of the pencil.

 Turn the yellow paper so the back side is showing and score every 1/4".  This makes raised lines and adds some texture to your pencil.  You can use a scoring board or the groove in your paper trimmer.

 Now use sandpaper or a sanding block to gently sand off the surface of the scored lines, exposing the white core. If you used a solid core card stock, use a bit of ink on a dauber to add some ink to the scored lines instead.

 Next, trace just part of the tag onto pink cardstock for the eraser.

 Layer your yellow paper and eraser on the pencil base and add the "metal" part of your pencil just below the eraser using a silver metallic ribbon (I used 1/8", but 1/4 would also work.)

  As the final touch to your pencil, punch a 1/2" circle out of black cardstock and adhere it to the point of the pencil.  Now all you have to do is trim off the extra black card stock and silver ribbon and you have a pencil!

Supplies: patterned paper (Imaginisce, Prima); card stock (Provo Craft); ribbon (Pebbles); crayon (Crayola); ink (Ranger)

Kiwi Lane Templates: Tiny Tags 3T, Tiny Wacky 1T, Tiny Strips, Tiny Shapes 8T

This card has a crayon, also made out of the tiny tags! I wanted to point out that I used crayon to write the sentiment.  Remember that in your card making, you can use things that you normally would never use for your scrapbook layouts, like writing with crayons and pencils.  You don't have to worry about your card materials being archival quality and acid free, which opens up a whole world of options.

Trace the tag on card stock like this.  

 Then make a dotted line across the tag, separating the tip from the rest.  Move the tip down a bit and trace again, only going to the dotted line.  Make another line at the top to mark where you will cut the point off the tip to make the flat crayon top.  

 Now erase the outside line where you have doubles, and the pointy part of the tip.  This is what you should have left.  Cut along the solid lines (NOT the dotted line) and you have your crayon base.  Just flip it over (or erase all the lines), add a "wrapper" and whatever you want to use to embellish it and you're done!

Supplies: patterned paper (Imaginisce, Prima); card stock (Provo Craft); twine (SupplyOwl on Etsy); "school" sticker (DCWV); glitter letter stickers (Making Memories); ribbon (Offray); ink (Ranger)

Kiwi Lane Templates: Tiny Holiday 4T, Tiny Accents 4T, Adorn 3A/3B

Kiwi Lane does not currently have an apple template, but you can think outside the box a little and use a pumpkin with a bit of modification.  I trimmed the bottom so it looked more like an apple, and I made the stem more rounded.   -Gail Owens http://glowormdesigns.blogspot.com/

Design Team

Some of you might have already meet these two ladies at one of the scrapbooking expos this past year... so you probably already know how amazing they are.

We are super excited they are part of our Design Team.  These two are not only amazing ladies, but amazing at what they design. Make sure to check back often to see what they design next.

Hi! I’m Sandy Ballard – I am originally from St. George, Utah, where I never really did “grow up”. I’m still just a big kid, now living in Fernley, Nevada. I’ve been married to Tim Ballard for 12 years, and we have a vivacious daughter Madison- 9, and a comical son Andrew- 6. And the only pets we will ever have are the dust bunnies that keep showing up every week! 

I love to try anything that involves design, and shortly after getting married, I started my own Portrait & Lifestyle Photography business, in which I’ve adopted my life’s motto: “ We are happiest when we are creating!”. My interest in scrapbooking didn’t bloom until I met Shiloh, and she introduced me to ‘Framing’ and the incredible system with DT’s that Kiwi Lane has developed – I’m now TOTALLY hooked! 

Hi I'm Shawna, and I am an addict. Paper, buttons, ribbon, brads, chip board... you name it, I probably have it. But, now with Kiwi Lane I am taking my addiction and I am creating! Creating pages and projects that I never dreamed I, yes little 'ol me, could make. I am inspired over and over by the amazing designers here and am very humbled to now be counted as one.  And , pardon my yell, BUT OH SO EXCITED TOO! 

I have been scrapp'n for around 15 years. I have seen lots and lots of trends but never have I been inspired as I have been with Kiwi Lane. I too am a wife and mother. I have been married just under 20 years to an AMAZING man who has giving me 4 FABULOUS children, who in turn, have given me boxes and boxes of photos and memorabilia that I am finally really starting to get into albums. -Not just dreaming of, but actually DOING! I attribute this to Kiwi Lane and their amazing inspiration and "layers" of design. (OK, I admit to also being a Kiwi Addict, but that is a good thing! Right?) 

Design Team

We are super excited to have Jennifer and Jen as part of our Design Team! Here is a little about them. 

Born and raised in Las Vegas, NV. I met, fell in love with, & married my amazing husband in October 2004.  We have an awesome 2-year old son Noah who’s photos are basically 80% of what I scrap.  I literally married into the now Kiwi Family.  WHICH IS AWESOME!  (Debbie’s my mother-in-law and Susan & Shiloh my sister-in-laws) 

I’ve always envied their scrapbooking styles over the years but really evolved my scrapbooking and began loving my pages when they created the designer templates.  I now travel around with them to the scrapbook expo’s across the country so I might see you at one this year. 

I have been married for almost 9 years, have two beautiful girls ages 6 and 3. I have been scrapbooking and crafting for over 14 years and love it. I am always thinking of new ways to change a look of a craft or scrapbook page or even a card.

With Kiwi Lane DT it has given me a whole new thought process to use on my layouts, crafts and cards. Made it easy and fast which has been a heaven to me. Being able to set up a layout without cutting a single paper has saved alot of paper for me, WOW the money SAVED. The dimension you can use the templates for are endless and I enjoy creating new things everytime and they are so easy to take to a CROP or friends to scrapbook.

You can find my blog at:craftingmoments.wordpress.com.

Design Team

We are really looking forward to seeing what Kristy Lee designs each month for the Picture Perfect Challenge.

I am sure she will inspire you just like she does us!

Here is a little about her.

I am a somewhat frantic (okay, mostly frantic) and busy work at home mom to 5 wonderful children (including teen girls which don't be fooled, are AMAZING) and a wife to my "bebe" of nearly 20 years. I scrap. It's what I do! (Amongst photography, laundry, cooking, cleaning, refereeing, taxi service, running, errands...you get the idea). So if you ever bump into me and I'm wearing two different shoes, or have forgotten my mascara, or have even misplaced a child, you'll understand. :) I look forward to inspiring you one "Picture Perfect" layout at a time.

Design Team

We are really excited to have Gail part of our Design Team this year! I think you are going to enjoy seeing what she designs the 3rd Wednesday of each month for the "Sentiment" category. Welcome Gail!

Gail is addicted to paper and paper crafting and loves to have what she calls "paper therapy" every day, if possible. She is also a SAHM of two kids who keep her on her toes and a self-proclaimed Gilmore Geek (meaning that she watches/listens to "Gilmore Girls" every chance she gets, including paper therapy sessions!)