Do you like sketches?

When you want to scrap and you're looking for inspiration, have you ever tried a sketch? There are a ton of online sites as well as books and magazines that have scrapbooking and cardmaking sketches now.

I was totally thrilled when I got an e-mail from Becky Fleck with one of the amazing May sketches for PageMaps!! I got to design a layout based on the sketch below and it and my layout sample of my son, Nathan, on his birthday are on the PageMaps site today! Check out all of her amazing sketches and the fabulous sample layouts!

The great thing about sketches is that 5 people can work with the same sketch and get different looking layouts. If you want to try playing with a sketch in a class, you might want to try the May class "From Sketch to Scrapped" on May 27th!

In this class, we're going to take the sketch above (this month from Ally Cope at SoSketchy.blogspot.com) and complete a double page layout in class. The first thing we'll do is choose papers that'll compliment your pictures and I'll be there to help you do that. Then we'll talk about the design, how you might want to change it to make it your own and how to simply get that 2-pager done! You're encouraged to bring pictures to help you pick your papers and so that you can go home with something finished.

Let us know where you go for sketches if you like using them!

Spellbinders and the Cuttlebug

Have you seen all the fabulous Spellbinders dies? Ever wondered how to use them? This fabulous little video shows you how to use them in the Cuttlebug and a few other machines as well!



Spellbinders Website

Palette Generator

Ever look at your pictures and wonder what on earth you're going to use for colours for your layout?! I'm sure we've all been there at some point, so why not try one of these colour palette generators?

All you need to do is upload your picture and it'll suggest colours for you... Try it!

Big Huge Labs Palette Generator

CSS Drive Colors Palette Generator

Let us know if you try it and if you have a preference!!

Feature Classes for this Coming Week

Play Hard NEW!
Instructor: Colleen Heidrich
Class Fee: $15.00 Supply Fee: $15.00
They work hard and they play hard. This is the kit to pay tribute to the men in your life - both young and old. The four page layouts showcase the activities that fill their days with the strong, vibrant colors of the new Grease Monkey collection. All supplies included!

Once Upon a Time NEW!
Instructor: Tobi Crawford
Class Fee: $15.00 Supply Fee: $5.00
Using oh-so-cute images from a brand new set of stamps by Technique Tuesday you will hone in on your Copic Marker skills, and get friendly with Nestabilities dies by Spellbinder. If you haven't used them, you are in for a surprise, they cut, they emboss, and you can stencil with them, they are just the best! As always all supplies are provided, but if you want to bring your collection of markers along, feel free! We will make 4 versatile cards with cute product and lots of dimension. All supplies included.

Core'dinations Cardstock

Check out this cardstock that we now have in stock! This video talks about the paper and some of the techniques that you can use with it.



These videos deal more with the specific techniques...

Tearing


Sanding


Antiquing


Have fun playing with this!!

Inks and Inking Large Stamps

Check out this great video from Jennifer McGuire from Hero Arts! She talks about different kinds of inks and some different ways to ink the large stamps.



Jennifer has a lot more videos on her blog as well as the Hero Arts blog!

Making Memories Slice

For those of you that have already purchased this fabulous little beauty of a portable die cutting machine, I'm going to post a little video to help you get the most out of your paper and I really found this helpful!