July's Inspiration Gallery Highlights

Something new we are starting is that each month we want to highlight a layout, card or project from the Inspiration Gallery, from each design team member! If you haven't stopped by the Inspiration Gallery yet, make sure you do! There is a ton of new projects from our new design team and each one is beyond incredible.

We found all of the projects so inspiring and love them all so much, that it made it even harder to pick out just one from each designer to highlight! But, we tried our best and below is just a tiny taste of each designers gallery for July:

Aren't they amazing?! Love how each one of them used tags from our Handmade Layers collection, but were able to still capture their own style with them! Now, if you haven't already, make sure you check out their other amazing creations, here!

And, we wanted to give our design team and guest designer a HUGE thank you for keeping us inspired :) all of you are amazing ladies and we appreciate each one of you so much!

Sketch Thursday : 7.28.11

This week marks the first time the work of our new design team is featured on the ES blog - I'm thrilled to be able to share more from them!  This layout, from design team member Marcy Penner, first caught my eye because of it's subject matter.  I just started running and while I don't love it, I will admit I always feel so much better after doing it!  Marcy's layout has so many bits and pieces that drew me in - stitching, splatters of paint - and I love the scalloped edge she created along the left side.

This week''s sketch features two prominent spaces for photos or photos and journaling - your call!  This is the perfect opportunity to dig into your stash of embellishments and tags and put them to work on your layout.

I chose to use both large spaces in the sketch to house photos of my daughter and her much loved aunt.  I positioned my title in the same area but also took a few different twists on my layout.  Instead of three scallops along the left side of the layout, I mimicked the embellishment idea by using three butterflies.  I also chose to put my journaling above one of my photos and tucked ES tags along not only the top but also the bottom of my vertical photo.  To bring everything togther, I created a frame around everything with small strips of cardstock.

Elle's Studio products used : Yellow & Orange Lil' Snippets Labeled, Everyday Journaling Circle Tags and Date and Place Strips - Black and White. 

Other product used : Studio Calico's Summer Camp kit.

One glimpse at the bow on this layout from design team member Leslie Ashe and I was smitten!  I love that she substituted ribbon for the piece of cardstock that Marcy used in the original layout.  She included the three scalloped elements with the bow but what an amazing transformation!

Leslie says, "The sketch – in general, totally inspired me to step out of my box. Why you ask? I have a hard time scrapping with sketches. It’s true! Weird, huh?  But really...I love seeing them and what people do with them. So when I get one and get the chance to work with them – it’s me, stepping out of my creation box with a little “nudge” if you can say.  I had a blast with this one – the circles are my faves. I LOVE scrapping with circles."

Elle's Studio products used : Handmade Layers Love Notes, Handmade Layers Circles, Everyday Tiny Tags and Vintage Mix & Match Numbers.

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, August 3, 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 :

papirdiva, please e-mail me the following information to : melanie [at] shopellesstudio [dot] com by 7.27.11 and I'll get you your gift certificate!

Name :

Contest : 7.21 Sketch Thursday

Take Out Tuesday : 7.26.11

Oh how I love the new ES products that arrived on my doorstep last week!  It was easy to use four different ES products on this layout.

For today's Take Out Tuesday, I used three vertical 4x6 photos.  I still had room for journaling, a title and embellishments and was able to complete this layout quickly.  You'll notice that I used two ES tags to house embellishments - tags don't always have to be for journaling!

Elle’s Studio products used : Scalloped Journaling Tags - Black and White, Lil' Snippets: Date, Lil' Snippets: Days of the Week - Friday and Lil' Snippets: Labeled - Red & Pink.

Other product used : Studio Calico's Singin' In The Rain kit.

Click here to download this Take Out Tuesday PDF file, including a photo 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.  As our thank you for participating, we'll select one commenter to receive a $5 ES gift certificate. Link must be posted by 11:59p on Monday, August 15, 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.

July Guest Designer : Jen Gallacher

 
As our July Inspiration Gallery went live yesterday, you no doubt were able to see the amazing work of our newest seven member design team.  What?  You saw the work from eight highly creative ladies? 

Your eyes didn’t deceive you – there are eight!  Each month, we’ll bring a special Guest Designer on board to create alongside our talented design team.  A new face for our design team, but without a doubt the same inspiration you’ve come to expect from us.

 
Elle’s Studio is thrilled to welcome our July Guest Designer, Jen Gallacher.  I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jen in the past and am so happy to have her sharing her work with us.  She is one of the most amazingly kind people you could ever hope to meet in this industry.

Jen says, “I began working in the scrapbooking industry in 1998 designing for PaperKuts Magazine. From there I designed for a variety of companies including Making Memories, Li’l Davis Designs, and Little Yellow Bicycle. My true passion is writing and I began writing a monthly article for Scrapbook Trends magazine a few years ago. Since then I’ve moved on as the Creative Editor for both Create Magazine and Cricut Magazine and Idea Books and as the Contributing Editor for Scrapbook Trends Magazine. I also serve as one of the contributing writers for both the Northridge Publishing Create blog and Echo Park Paper’s blog. Besides writing, I enjoy designing for American Crafts and serving as a Garden Girl for Two Peas in a Bucket. In my free time (if there is such a thing), I like to ride my bike and read and spend time with my two children and husband.”

I asked Jen a few questions so you could learn a bit more about this amazing scrapbooker :

Name : Jen Gallacher

Location : Utah

Blog : http://jengallacher.blogspot.com/

  

Why did you start scrapbooking and how did you get started?

My Sister dragged me to a class in 1996 and I've been hooked ever since.

Where do you scrapbook? 

In my office, which is upstairs near all the bedrooms so I can somewhat hear and respond to any emergencies.

What do you listen to/watch while scrapbooking?

I love listening to the "Weekly Warehouse Walk" videos from Two Peas in a Bucket while I work. Weird. Right? But something about them soothes me and helps me create.

What are three products you can't live without?

1. buttons
2. twine
3. stamps

What are three facts about you that others might not now?

1. I am afraid of flying.
2. I play the piano and sometimes accompany the church singing when asked.
3. I am completely addicted to Plain and Peanut M&M's and I should probably consider buying stock in the company.

What are your three favorite ES products? 

1. Come to Mama!: 2011 Monthly Pennants
2. Numbers slay me: Mix & Match Vintage Number Tags - set of 31 - Turquoise
3. Weak in the knees for these: Chic Date Tags - Brights

Thanks again to Jen for sharing her work with us this month!

Would you like a chance to win Jen's favorite Elle's Studio products?  We'd love to give them to you!  Simply visit the July Inspiration Gallery and let us know which of Jen's projects you enjoyed most, found inspiring, etc.  We'll select one commenter at random to receive Jen's three favorite ES products.  Comment must be posted by 11:59p on Saturday, July 30, 2011.

July's Inspiration Gallery is LIVE!

Today is the day we've all been waiting for! Our first gallery with our new design team is here! They've done an outstanding job with our tags and have created projects that are sure to give you a ton of inspiration for your layouts and more! Make sure you check it out at our website, here.

We also have a little surprise in the gallery for you! We'll be telling you more about it tomorrow, but see if you can find it today!

And, we wanted to let you know that our sweet Laura is on bed-rest because her baby tried to come a little early. Please keep her and the baby in your prayers. There won't be a gallery from her this month, but her and the baby's health is much more important to us :)

We hope you enjoy the gallery and take some of the inspiration with you into the weekend! Happy creating :)

Please note: if you do not see images from the new team members please clear your cache.

July's Inspiration Gallery Sneak Peek!

Tomorrow is the BIG day! Are you ready? Our new Design Team's first Inspiration Gallery will be going live tomorrow! But, to hold you over until then, we have a little sneak peek above :)

Make sure you check back tomorrow, what these ladies have done is amazing!

Sketch Thursday : 7.21.11

Happy Thursday! Thursday is my favorite day of the week - it means the weekend is almost here and I start to plan all the things I'd like to accomplish (and barely make a dent in). This week, Thursday also means it's my birthday, thus I thought featuring this fiesta themed layout from former ES design team member Mindy Miller was appropriate to showcase this week!

The grid design of Mindy's layout initially caught my eye, as did her titlework. I love how she used some blocks for photos and others for embellishments and tags. Those photos you have that need to be cropped before they see the light of day on a layout? This is the perfect opportunity to showcase them!

When I started my layout, I was going to create more of a grid layout with my photos but instead ended up with something more like a smooshed grid. Those less that stellar photos that I mentioned before? That's exactly why I chose these photos. They all needed cropped and they ended up working perfectly for this sketch. I loved Mindy's titlework in her original layout and created something similar for my layout.

Elle’s Studio products used : Handmade Layers Journaling Tags and Handmade Layers Large Journaling Tags.

Other product used : Studio Calico's Mind The Gap kit.

When ES Design Team member Waleska sent me her take on this week's sketch, I was in awe. I love how one sketch can inspire so many layouts yet you might not even be aware of it.

Waleska says, "I was mainly inspired by the grid design of thesketch. I followed the placement closely but used circle tags instead (these scallop tags make great frames for small pictures!). I also cut out some of the layers from the Handmade Layers tags and used them as borders."

Elle's Studio products used : Handmade Layers Circle Tags, Handmade Layers Large Journaling Tags, Handmade Layers Tiny Tags, Handmade Layers Date and Place Strips and Owl Love You Forever Scallop Circle Tags.

Other products used : Studio Calico's Singin' In The Rain Kit, Sassafras Blue Linen Alpha Stickers.

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 27, 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 :

Abbey, please e-mail me the following information to : melanie [at] shopellesstudio [dot] com by 7.27.11 and I'll get you your gift certificate!

Name :
Contest : 7.14 Sketch Thursday

Thank you!

Happy Monday, everyone!

We wanted to say thank you so, SO much for all your orders with our new launch! We are so excited that you love the new items and cannot wait to see what you create with them!

Most of the orders have been officially shipped now :) check your inbox for your shipping confirmation. Thank you so much for your patience with our order processing time, too! It look us a little longer than expected to get all the orders out this time around, and we are so sorry for some of those delays! But, we are happy to report that we are almost back to our normal processing time of 1 - 3 days!

The winners of the Tim Holtz scissors where: Melissa Huie, Holly Sloat, and Abbey Richards! Congrats ladies! Your package has probably already arrived and we hope you enjoyed the surprise inside :)

You guys are all amazing and we appreciate your support more than words could ever express! You make this all possible and we are forever grateful for each and every one of you!

Love you all and happy creating!

Faux Instax + Mpix Discount

There are many things I love about the Instax Camera, but my favorite has to be the small sized, white-frame pictures it produces. They just seem perfect for layouts and mini-albums (like our sold-out Savoring Summer mini album!)

Today I am going to share a few secrets on how to many your own "faux instax" with photos from ANY camera! It is really easy, and the results are just as wonderful (if not better, in my opinion) as if they came out of a real instax.

Mpix is a fabulous online source for high quality printing of your photos. It was suggested to me by my photographer friend, and I was shocked to see the difference between the quality of Mpix photos in comparison with drugstore prints. I have been ordering photos from Mpix ever since (regular sized, mini photos, AND frameable enlargements), and have been incredibly happy with the results.

I have always loved Mpix's mini-wallet size prints- it measures 1.75"x 2.5" and comes in a sheet of eight. Eight prints of the same photo may seem like alot- but i have found it to be perfect for those favorite photos I want to use in both mini albums, layouts, and other projects.

Recently I made an incredible discovery-- the Mpix mini wallet is the EXACT same size as the photo portion of the instax!!! It is the perfect print to use in a "faux instax".

So, once you have ordered your Mpix mini wallets, all you will need to do is trim a piece of white cardstock for the frame. The cardstock should measure 3.375" x 2.125".

Center your photo onto the cardstock leaving 5/8" on the bottom and 1/4" on top.

One final detail you can add, is to slightly trim the corners of the cardstock as shown below.

Now you have you have your own faux instax! (the two photos on the outside are from my actual instax camera). No one will be able to tell the difference!


Guess what, we have a special surprise for you today!! Mpix is generously offering Elle's Studio fans 20% off prints! Enter the promo code ELLE11 at checkout to receive 20% off your print order. The code will expire 7/29/11. Happy shopping!

Sketch Thursday : 7.14.11

Can I tell you how much I love Sketch Thursday?  Each week I get to create a layout for my personal albums inspired by one of our design team members.  That means that it's guaranteed I'll create at least one layout a week.  (That was my goal for 2011.)  It also means that my layout comes together quickly as I'm already given a jumping off point and can simply select photos that fit the sketch and get to work. 

This week's sketch is based on a layout created by former ES Design Team member Mandie Pierce for the July Inspiration Gallery.  I love that the original layout utilizes two 4x6 photos - something I definitely have in abundance to scrapbook!

For my layout this week, I used twice as many photos as Mandie's layout but stayed true to their placement on the layout.  I chase the patterned paper for the bottom half of the layout as I thought it mimicked the horizontal bands on the sketch. 

This is one of those layouts where the photos aren't the best in regards to composition but they have a special meaning to them.  These photos show the first time my oldest daughter met two sets of great aunts and uncles.  They've been waiting to be put on a layout and this sketch gave me the push I needed to.  I mean, wouldn't you love to have a layout featuring photos of yourself as a baby with special family members?  I often think that way when I scrapbook.  And hope that my daughters enjoy being able to flip through the layouts I create as much as I enjoy putting them together.

Elle’s Studio products used : Handmade Layers Date and Place Strips, Make A List Journaling Tags,  Handmade Layers Pennants - Blank and Handmade Layers Journaling Tags.

Other product used : Studio Calico's Mind The Gap 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 20, 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 :

Meghann, please e-mail me the following information to : melanie [at] shopellesstudio [dot] com by 7.20.11 and I'll get you your gift certificate!

Name :
Contest : 7.7 Sketch Thursday

Take Out Tuesday : 7.12.11

For today's Take Out Tuesday, I chose to highlight two vertical 4x6 photos.  I've made it simple for you!  Simply grab a few photos from your "to scrapbook" pile, some ES tags and some patterned paper and you're ready to go.

This layout features five different Elle's Studio products.  I think that's a new record for me.  I repeatedly tell Elle that her products are so easy to incorporate into my layouts as I create them.  They're always the perfect finish touch to pull everything together.  This week I even created an embellishment from a tag by simply cutting a shape from it with a butterfly punch.  Just like that I had an embellishment that coordinated with my layout!

Elle’s Studio products used : Handmade Layers Large Journaling Tags, Chic Date Tags - Brights, Handmade Layers Circle Tags, Handmade Layers Journaling Circle Tags - Large and Vintage Baby Flashcards - Pink.

Other product used : Studio Calico's Mind The Gap kit.

Click here to download this Take Out Tuesday PDF file, including a photo 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.