friday . . .

I am still here - just playing the avoidance game a bit - not that I really want to avoid all of you wonderful readers out there - you all keep me blogging :) The truth is I made a very important decision recently & I have just been waiting until I knew exactly what I wanted to say. I think with any loss, comes great reflection. And I have been doing alot of reflecting. I rediscovered what is so fabulous about running these past few weeks - the time to just really think - no interruptions - just you and the silence. Within this silence my mind of course has been going a mile a minute just thinking about my priorities & if they have been in the right place. In the end, I made the decision to resign from Imaginisce, Scrap Within Reach, and GCD Studios. A VERY difficult decision, but in the end, I know it is the right one for me at this point in my life. I LOVE scrapbooking - it is my escape at the end of a long day & my way of documenting the wonderful moments I have experienced in my lifetime. However, the deadlines - well, when you have too many of them as I did, they tend to change all that - or at least they did for me. It became about getting it done & what pics work for this paper line & I need to take pics of this so that I have them for an upcoming assignment. It saddened me deeply - this hobby is about treasuring my memories & I think I was losing sight of that. Being a part of these teams was such an awesome journey & they are truly ALL fabulous companies to work for :) Each and every one of them was so understanding & kind after I shared my decision with them & I appreciate that tremendously because I feel so horrible about ending my terms early. I will still be continuing my position as sketch artist for Magpie Club, My Creative Scrapbook, and The Scrap Room as well as doing some guest designing here & there for the next few months :) AND - I will still be blogging - no worries :) I want to say a special thank you to all of you who took the time to leave such kind & thoughtful comments on my last post & to all of you who sent me such sweet emails (that I still have yet to finish responding to - sorry again). They ALL just touched me so much - I am so lucky to have such a fabulous & caring group of readers!!! Thank you ALL again from the bottom of my heart!!

Now, I couldn't leave you all without sharing some scrappiness - yes I am still scrapping. I had a number of assignments to finish up this month & being that I was away from the blogging scene for so long - I am going to overload you all with some pics :)

As mentioned in my last post, I had the wonderful opportunity to guest design for Paper Posies this month. For my third layout, Michele asked me to create a sketch along with it that she could share with her subscribers. Here is the sketch . . .

And here is the layout . . .

I really LOVE title work - the combination of more than one alpha set within a title always seems to make it "pop" more to me. There were 2 within this kit - the red and the ledger type blue & white - LOVED them both!!!

I always see people doing this half-circle punch out thing - really liked the effect of the missing space & the little butterfly in there :)

When I printed off this photo of my son a few weeks ago, I knew the color scheme was perfect for the GCD Studios Artsy Urban line. I just love how the mix of gold, maroon, and black in the patterned papers totally complimented the pic.

I definitely love to layer, and this layout was no different. I used a combination of the border strips, inspiration cards, mat pads, journal cards, chipboard stickers and patterned paper to incorporate a number of patterns & colors into layout.

I also wanted to add some dimension to the layout as well so I used some punched patterned paper & chipboard to create this cute flower.

The flower was super easy & quick so I thought I would take a moment to share how you too can create this to use on your layouts :)

Handmade Flower Tutorial:

#1 First off, you will need 2 sizes of flower punches, patterned paper, paint, mist, twine, a chipboard circle, a thin paintbrush, and sandpaper.

#2 Begin by punching 2 flowers of varying size. You want to make sure the patterned paper is double-sided because you will see both sides in the final flower.

#3 Use the end of a thin paintbrush to curl up each petal.

#4 Do this to every petal on both punched flowers.

#5 Attach the smaller curled flower on top of the larger curled flower. I used a thick pop-dot so that the smaller flower was slightly raised above the larger.

#6 Now you will need to create the center of the flower. Paint the front of a small chipboard circle & spray a light coating of mist on it. Once dry, sand the edges a bit to give it a distressed feel. Punch 2 small holes near the center to create the "button".

#7 Using a piece of twine, tie a small bow through the holes of the button. Adhere this to your flower & voila - a fun & easy handmade flower to add to your layouts!!!

And finally, some sneaks to share for pages I will be revealing over the coming week :)

Magpie Club Sneak :)

My Creative Scrapbook Sneak :)

And last but not least, a few sneaks from my upcoming Guest Designer spot over at Paper Poppy - if you haven't checked this kit club out you should. It is owned by a FABULOUS designer - Aphra Bolyer - who used to design for me when I was running 52 Sketches 52 Weeks. She has a knack for putting together some totally yummy kits & I had a ball designing with all the goodies she sent me :)

Thanks again so much to all of you out there!!! I have the best readers ever & I so appreciate all the kindness & support you have shown me :) We are heading out to the mountains for some much needed family time but I will be popping in this weekend to post my FULL reveal for Paper Poppy so make sure to check back!!!

ttyl - julie

monday . . .

I am back . . . from a pretty long week/weekend. Shortly after Easter I found out I was pregnant only to then miscarry again the end of last week. I am doing okay - exhausted, both emotionally & physically, but okay. I always imagined raising a house full of children - or at least 2 or 3 :) I grew up with 2 older sisters & 2 younger brothers & as crazy as it was I loved it. Maybe that will happen one day & maybe it won't. And if it doesn't I realized this week, I really am okay with it. Ryan has this habit now of calling down to me every night - I need one more kiss mom. So of course I oblige :) Once or twice at least :) Last night after about 5 of those he said - "Mom, I want ALL the kisses!!! Give me ALL the kisses!!" - and I thought to myself, this IS enough. So I am okay - and whatever is meant to be in my future, whether it be just one sweet little Ryan or a house full of little ones - I am okay with it either way :)

Okay - enough of the serious :) On to some scrappy!!!

Michele from Paper Posies asked me to guest design for her this month. She puts together such adorable kits & this month was no different. She sent me such a fun mix of products - including some fabulous Cosmo Cricket & October Afternoon papers which I just LOVED!!!

The first layout I made turned out so bright & cheery - just loved the cute factor in these papers!!

The title was actually on one of the patterned papers - to create the frame I used just the waste punch-outs that resulted after the punched the border towards the bottom of the page. To highlight the title I stitched 4 long stitches around the box to give it that bold black frame - a super easy way to really make a title box like this "pop".

Here is a quick close-up at the journaling . . .

As you may or may not know I am obsessed with border punches - just love 'em!! I recently picked this one up from EK Success. Instead of stitching around the border of the page I just intertwined some embroidery floss in between the punched areas - I really liked the effect :)

My second page was a little more "artsy" than normal for me :) I love playing with mists & decided to spray a little on the background cardstock - loved these colors from the October Afternoon Fly A Kite line!!

The title work was something new I have been playing with recently too - stitching through chipboard letters - LOVE how this looks!!!

A quick close-up on the journaling . . .

I am also really enjoying layering embellies up these days & love the effect of layering up the flower & a bunch of stickers from the Prima sticker sheet included in the kit. They provided the perfect "layered" photo corner :)

I will be providing a sketch & sample for a challenge next week on the Paper Posies blog so please check back with them then for some extra sketchy inspiration!!!

ttyl - julie

thursday . . .

Hello everyone!!! I am SO excited to share my first GCD Studios project with you. This month, Heidi challenged us to use these gorgeous images, full of pinks, greens, and creams, to inspire our projects . . .

Immediately I was drawn to the feeling of spring portrayed by these photos. I had a picture of my son on a swing with this gorgeous green grassy background that I new would be perfect for this challenge. Now, a color theme involving pink may steer some away from showcasing a boy pic - but have no fear!!!! Pink elements can totally work on a boy layout - I promise :) Check out what I came up with . . .

I used a combination of papers from the Homespun Chic Collection & the Artsy Urban Collection. I LOVE that I was able to find patterned papers within both collections that coordinated so nicely :) I did a bit of machine stitching to tie each patterned paper to the next. I also added another small "pop" of pink in the bottom right-hand corner using a portion of one of the fabulous Homespun Chic inspiration cards, topped with a section of one of the Homespun Chic die-cut borders. I finished this off with one of the adorable Homespun Chic buttons - love the uniqueness of these!!!

For the title work, I knew I just had to incorporate one of the word strips from the Homespun Chic Collection. I love finding products like these that put into words just what we all want to say :) Above the title is one of the GCD Studios chipboard butterflies. I used the Chip Art tool to deboss some flourish images into the shape & then painted it a kraft brown color. To distress it a bit, I sanded the edges & finished it off with a few pearl accents in the center :)

I am all about layering recently, especially embellishments. The Homespun Chic Collection offers numerous choices & I LOVED the look of their recipe card, transparency, and inspiration card all together. A fun little touch peeking out from the top of the photo :)

I encourage you all to use this theme of pinks, greens, and creams on your own spring layouts & if you are feeling a bit adventurous . . . try mixing in those boy pics!!! You'll be surprised at how nicely a "pop" of pink can add just the right touch to those layouts of the boys (& men) in your lives :)

Speaking of GCD Studios . . . interested in winning this fabulous prize???

It's super easy :) First of all - sign up for our newsletter by emailing Heidi at inthestudio@gcdstudios.com . Then, become a follower of the GCD Studio Blog. Once you have done both, leave a comment on the blog post HERE. You have until April 9th (that's tomorrow everyone!!!) so hop to it :) Good luck!!

Have a fabulous Thursday!!!

ttyl - julie

tuesday . . .

** WARNING!!! Picture-heavy post!! ** :)

Hello everyone!!! Hope you all had a fabulous Easter holiday :) We spent the day with family - here's a few pics from Sunday . . .

dying eggs Easter morning (yes I waited until the last minute) . . .

exploring some Easter goodies . . .

having a little sugary snack :)

hunting for eggs at Grammy's . . .

finally - I'm in a pic!!!

Grammy, Ryan & me :)

Okay - on to some scrappy :)

Pam over at My Creative Scrapbook sent me this adorable kit to work with this month - love, love, love the bright, fun colors & all the cute embellies :)

Here is my sketch for April . . .

And here is the layout I came up with using the April Creative kit . . .

The title letters were raw chipboard & I was excited to try this new product I found to cover them . . .

It is super easy to use - just stamp the letters on an embossing stamp pad, cover with the distress embossing powder, shake off any excess powder, and then heat. TADA!!! Totally covered - love that the graininess (is that a word??) makes it look almost like soil - perfect for these outdoor pics!!

I also had fun creating this journaling block. It was a sticker frame that I pop-dotted & then back with a typed piece of patterned paper. The first word ("you") is actually cut from one of the stickers in the kit. Love the contrast of the fonts :)

I will be running a challenge in the MCS forum beginning the 10th so pop over here on Saturday!! Hope to see you all play along :)

I have more to share in the the coming days but here is a sneak peek of a few things in the meantime . . .

Have a fabulous Tuesday!!

ttyl - julie

P.S. Julie - ttyl means "talk to ya later" - cheesy I know :)

friday . . .

Another beautiful day - I love it!!!! Visits to the park, bike rides, bubble-blowing, and snacking on popsicles are all in full swing!!! Here are some snapshots of Bonner life this week :)

swinging life away . . .

blowing bubbles . . .

hanging with cousin Matthew . . .

dipping our toes in at Grammy's beach . . .

playing with Matthew at Grammys . . .

As promised, I have some Magpie Club goodness to share. The multi-pic sketch I created for April is a great way to showcase your sequence shots - check it out . . .

And here is my take on it using the lovely April main kit . . .

Here is a close-up of the title card - love this Jenni Bowlin mini note paper & the adorable American Craft "springtime" sticker :)

I created a sun from the circle element in the sketch design. Loved the vintage children's book paper in the kit & these adorable buttons & felt flower!!!

I was stuck on placing the journaling until I decided it would fit perfectly in the smaller circle element on the sketch. Added a bit of stitching here as well - you all know how I am addicted to it :)

Tara will be using this as a challenge later this week on the Magpie blog - be sure to join in the fun - the prize is a Credit Crunch kit & guest design spot!!!

I will be back next week to share my work for My Creative Scrapbook & some fun projects I created for my Guest Design spot over at Paper Posies!!! Be sure to check back!!!

ttyl - julie