Sketch Thursday : 6.30.11

Happy Thursday!  If you're looking for inspiration to scrapbook this weekend - you've come to the right place!  This week's sketch is based on this layout by Design Team member Melissa Mann.  The single large photo she used immediately caught my eye and I couldn't wait to try something similar.

Although this week's sketch is very straightforward, feel free to put your own spin on it.  Instead of a single large format photo, what about doing a collage of smaller photos - even index prints! - to fill the space? 

Because I scrapbook using a 12x12 page format and I used an 8x10 photo, I used a strip of patterned paper along the width of my photo to fill the area in the sketch.  I could've printed a larger photo but had this one in my stash waiting to be scrapbooked and just went with it - why make things harder than they need to be?  I love that by using the sketch and a handful of Elle's Studio tags this layout came together for me in less than an hour.  That NEVER happens!

Elle’s Studio products used : Handmade Layers Date and Place Strips, Vintage Months Flashcards, The Details - Brights Tiny Tags and Fun Striped Tiny Tags.

Other product used : Studio Calico's Paper Moon kit.

Looking for an incentive to use our sketch this week?  We can help with that!  Post a link to your layout created using this Sketch Thursday sketch for your chance to win a $5 ES gift certificate.  Link must be posted by 11:59p on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.

Gift certificate can be used towards purchase of products only and can NOT be used for shipping charges. Gift certificate balance must be used in a single transaction.

Congratulations to last week's winner :

Jennifer Cowan, please e-mail me the following information to : melanie [at] shopellesstudio [dot] com  by 7.6.11 and I'll get you your gift certificate!

Name :

Contest : 6.23 Sketch Thursday

Fun 4th of July Free Project Download!

We love celebrating the 4th of July around here and wanted to take a moment to highlight our 4th of July digital files that can make your celebrations extra pretty!

Our first one up is a free download we released in 2009, but is still a huge hit! This project is super fun and something kids would really enjoy! Or, if you don't have kids, they would make a great decoration for around the house!

We made it using a Giant Pixy Stix, but you could use any stick candy and shrink our pattern, while printing, to make it fit! Or, if you don't want to use candy, you could us a painted wood dowel.

We've made this project into a download-able pdf with a full supply list, directions and cut outs! You can use the pieces as is or you could use them as a template to trace and cut out of other paper you have. You can also decorate it any way you'd like - we used crepe paper, glitter, our star stamp and a Martha Stewart border punch!

Here's a little peek at the download:

You can download this FREE pdf file here.

{the free download is a pdf file that requires Adobe Acrobat to open. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader you can download it here for free}

And, don't forgot about our other digitals in our digital shop! Banners, goodie bags, cupcake flags and journaling tags!

Prices range from $1.99 to $4.99 and once you purchase them, they are ready for instant downloading. Plus, they are yours forever, so you'll be able to use them every year!

Take Out Tuesday : 6.28.11

Welcome to another edition of Take Out Tuesday!  Usually we provide instructions to complete a layout but this time around, we'll be doing something a bit different.  Remember that limited edition project kit that sold out in only four days a few weeks back?  You know, the one that we won't ever be reproducing?  Yep, that's the one!  I thought I'd provide instructions on how to complete an alternative cover of the album from your kit.

I'm going to be the first to admit, I'm mini album challenged.  There.  I said it.  So the fact that the products for this project were already selected was half the battle I normally find myself up against.  I decided to use this kit to create an album for my friend who recently moved to Cleveland.  She had a series on her blog that she titled, "Countdown to Cleveland" where she wrote about what she and her family did for the last month in town before moving to Ohio.  A perfect gift for her and an easy gift for me to put together.  I have a kit to use and photographs and journaling for my friend.  Couldn't be easier, right?

FRONT COVER : I fell in love with that polka dot paper the minute I opened my kit.  Okay, so I also absolutely adore that exclusive striped ES tag, too!  They're a perfect compliment to one another.  The cover is my jumping off point for the rest of the album.

BACK COVER : In my head, the band of kraft cardstock around the front and back covers reminds me of a large band that you might put around an old book to help keep it together.  By the time I finish this album, I have a feeling I'll need such a band!  The back is similar to the front and uses more exclusive ES tags found in the kit.  (Here's hoping Elle decides to do more wood grain tags - love how they look!)

INSIDE FRONT COVER : I wanted a place to write a short note to my friend and this (yet another!) exclusive ES tag was the perfect choice.  With the addition of alphabet stickers and tape, I love how it made the perfect spot for journaling.

Click here to download this Take Out Tuesday PDF file, including photos and step by step instructions of the project. Please click "Save" when prompted.

You must have Adobe Reader to open this file, if you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download it for free, here. If you are having problems downloading or opening, please make sure you have the latest updates for Adobe Reader.

If you create a project based on this Take Out Tuesday layout, we'd love to see it!  Simply leave a comment below with a link to your project.

Missed out on this Elle's Studio project kit?  Don't make the same mistake twice!  Subscribe to the ES newsletter to be one of the first to know when our next kit is available.

Lunchtime with my nephew

My grandpa once told me that “We all make time for what’s important. If it is important enough, we will find the time to do it”. He is so right. Ever since that day, I have tried my hardest to make a conscious effort to juggle my schedule to fit in the "important things". And, I’ve found that most days don’t require any juggling, they just require my decision to do it.

When my nephew was born I knew I wanted to make sure I took time for him so he would know and understand how important he was to me. I wanted to make sure he always knew I would drop anything for him, and that I treasure every minute with him.

One of the things I do almost 5 days a week is take time to eat lunch with him. I consider myself extremely lucky that we all live so close to each other. Most of the time, we find ourselves at my mom’s (his grandma) house. It’s so special getting to spend that time with him, my mom and my sister.

I have got to see him go from eating baby food, to table food and sneak him little bites of some sweet treats along the way. Things I would have missed out on if I wouldn’t make that conscious decision, on those 5 days a week, to stop and join them for lunch. Those memories are so special to me, memories that I will always treasure and I owe a huge thank you to my Grandpa.

P.S. Did you spot some of the new tags in the layout above? We got some proofs back from the printers on Friday and had to try some of them out :) Make sure you are on our newsletter list to receive an email when the new tags are live and stay tuned for our launch date announcement that should be coming soon!

Sketch Thursday : 6.23.11

This week's sketch is based on this layout by Design Team member Lory Bucaria.  I love how Lory used vertical strips to house embellishments, journaling and her title.  I also love how she included a bit of color with embellishments at the top of the layout.

This sketch is very clean and streamlined but you can make it your own by literally thinking outside the box!  Feel free to rotate the layout or rearrange what boxes hold what - paper, photos, embellishments, etc.  The choice is yours.

I've had these photos sitting on my table for a while now and this sketch was the perfect time to get them on a layout.  I had been lacking inspiration as they aren't "perfect" photos by any means, but they tell a story of how my oldest daughter and the little boy next door have created a great friendship even though there is a three year age difference.  (I mean, who wouldn't want to play with a boy dressed like a pirate on occasion?)

My photo placement is the same as the sketch but then I took the liberty of making the rest of the layout my own.  Instead of vertical strips under the photos, I chose to use horizontal bands.  A border strip seperates my photos and the larger horizontal band.  I was able to slip tags both above and beyond the border strip and include another under my journaling.  I also scattered buttons within the confines of the sketch but also on the background of my layout to break up the lines created by the sketch.

Elle’s Studio products used : Handmade Layer Circle Tags, Handmade Layers Date and Place Strips and Vintage Summer Flash Cards.

Other product used : Studio Calico's Paper Moon kit.

Looking for an incentive to use our sketch this week?  We can help with that!  Post a link to your layout created using this Sketch Thursday sketch for your chance to win a $5 ES gift certificate.  Link must be posted by 11:59p on Wednesday, June 29, 2011.

Gift certificate can be used towards purchase of products only and can NOT be used for shipping charges. Gift certificate balance must be used in a single transaction.

Congratulations to last week's winner :

Jennie M, please e-mail me the following information to : melanie [at] shopellesstudio [dot] com  by 6.29.11 and I'll get you your gift certificate!

Name :

Contest : 6.16 Sketch Thursday

June's Inspiration Gallery is LIVE!

June's Inspiration Gallery is now live! This is our current team's last gallery with us and it's so hard to put into words how grateful we have felt over the last six months to have them all on board with us. They have been amazing, beyond incredible! Every month I couldn't wait to see what they had put together and how they used our tags. Seeing their techniques and twists on ways to use our tags was always so inspiring. And, their willingness to jump right in and do extra little things here and there was just too kind - I will be forever grateful for this wonderful group of women!

Next month, our incoming design team will be here to inspire us - switching out the teams is always so bittersweet. Sad to see the current team go, but excited to see what the incoming team will create.

Now, make sure you head on over to our Inspiration Gallery and see what these ladies have created this month to inspire you! And, please feel free to leave them a comment here telling them how much you've loved the last six months :)

Introducing Our Saturday Spotlight

We’re excited to announce our next new series on the ES blog – Spotlight Saturday.  On the first Saturday of each month, we’ll be shining a spotlight on a crafter that’s put Elle’s Studio product to work on their projects and getting to know them and their project a bit better.  We’re so excited to be able to showcase some of the amazing projects that we see using our product!  Even better?  Our first Saturday Spotlight will be going live on July 2nd and YOU could be a part of it!

If you create a project featuring Elle’s Studio project that you’d like us to see, please send me an e-mail at : melanie [at] shopellesstudio [dot] com

Please include the following :

• A scan/photo of your layout at 490px wide
• A few sentences about how you created your project
• A list of the ES products you used

As if we needed another reason to look forward to Saturday – we can’t wait to see what projects you submit!

Last days for digi/hybrid 35% off sale!

Just wanted to remind you that all our digital items are 35% off this week! This is an incredible sale that only happens twice a year, so if you've had you're eye on something, now's the time!

I also wanted to share with you some inspiration from the Jessica Sprague team! They used our most recent patriotic additions and I just LOVE what they've came up with! Here's a peek:

Memorial Day Pool Side by Jenn | Products used: Vintage USA journaling tags, Monogram tags, and Vintage Daily Photo Tabs.

Memorial Day by Shirlee | Products used: USA Journaling Tags

Cupcake Flags by Monica | Products used: Cupcake Flags (love how her cupcakes are blue!)

Cupcake Flags by Mindy | Products used: Cupcake Flags (love how she also used the flags to make a banner, see it in the background?! So fun!)

Popcorn Bags by Reeta | Products used: Patriotic Bags

Also, if you're looking to create something for dad this weekend, we have these fun Father's Day digitals! Bonus that they are on sale right now, too!

Monica made this present below and I thought it was just perfect!

And, last but certainly not least! I wanted to show you how Marcy Penner (not on the Jessica Sprague DT, but on our incoming DT that starts next month) used our Everyday Striped collection in her Project Life album!

She used our Everyday Striped Journaling Tags and they fit perfectly in the pockets! Love how she stamped the date and rounded the corners! There is also some circle tags, longer journaling tags and tabs in this collection, too.

Tons of digi/hybrid inspiration for sure! Big thank yous to everyone who gets us inspired :)

And, I'm super excited to see what YOU create with our digitals - if you have a creation, please leave a comment with the link to it so we can check it out!

xo,

Sketch Thursday : 6.16.11

Happy Thursday!  This week's sketch is based on this layout by Design Team member Gail Lindner.  The ES tags that Gail used to house her journaling and embellishments immediately caught my eye in the latest Inspiration Gallery. 

This week's sketch includes space for three photos but remember a sketch is just a jumping point for whatever you create!  Feel free to rotate or flip the sketch to best suite the photos and products you are using. 

This week, I started my layout by simply flipping through stacks of photos in search of three photos that went together and told a story.  I found these photos of my oldest daughter two years ago and went from there.  I rotated the sketch 90 degrees and also flipped the position of the horizontal photo.  The ES tags I chose became a natural home for journaling and the white space to the left of my horizontal photo became the perfect spot for my title.

Elle’s Studio products used : Handmade Layers Note Tags, Chic Note Tags - Brights and The Details - Brights Tiny Tags.  

Other product used : Studio Calico's Paper Moon kit.

Looking for an incentive to use our sketch this week?  We can help with that!  Post a link to your layout created using this Sketch Thursday sketch for your chance to win a $5 ES gift certificate.  Link must be posted by 11:59p on Wednesday, June 22, 2011.

Gift certificate can be used towards purchase of products only and can NOT be used for shipping charges. Gift certificate balance must be used in a single transaction.

Congratulations to last week's winner :

  

Lynsey, please e-mail me the following information to : melanie [at] shopellesstudio [dot] com  by 6.22.11 and I'll get you your gift certificate!

Name :

Contest : 6.9 Sketch Thursday

Tutorial: Cards! By Mindy Miller

By Mindy Miller

Summer has officially arrived and hopefully you have scheduled time to enjoy some crafting. How about using your favorite Elle’s Studio tags to create a set of birthday cards?

I utilized the same basic design for each card and a variety of Elle’s Studio products.
· Handmade Layers Birthday Pennants
· Birthday Note Tags
· Large Birthday Journaling Circle Tags
· Birthday Journaling Tags

You’ll need one pennant for each card, a tag, and the following supplies:
· Patterned paper
· Card base
· Scissors
· Paper trimmer
· Hole punch
· Border punch
· Twine
· Adhesive

Start by picking out your tag and determining whether you will create a vertical or horizontal design.

Cut a piece of patterned paper the same width as the tag.

Affix the patterned paper to the card at a slight angle. Then trim the edges off each side.

Next, punch a border out of patterned paper. Tuck the border behind the patterned paper strip on each side.

Then tie twine or fiber around the tag and add a pennant before affixing it to the patterned paper strip.

Or, tie the twine around the patterned paper strip if you are using a round tag and a horizontal card design.

I hope I have given you a few ideas for using the Elle’s Studio birthday tags and pennants. By incorporating this basic design and a combination of Elle’s Studio products, you can create a set of birthday cards in minutes!