:BE INSPIRED: Creativity Prompts - January 2010 Sketch Inspired

Here's a little challenge for you sketch lovers out there.

I encourage you to share the layouts you create from the above sketches in the NEW :BE INSPIRED: Creativity Prompts Flickr group pool!!

Have fun!!

:LAYOUT: misty morning

This layout is from a while back, but we woke up to a morning somewhat like this today. I'm not a fan of winter really, but I can't deny the beauty of frosty trees.

The papers were perfect for these wintery shots and I loved the soft texture that the felt letters and bracket frames added to the layout. However, the original color was a bit too bright, so I brushed them with a brown inkpad which coordinates with the paper as well and muted the color a bit.

The teal felt embellishments as well as the brown rub ons create visual triangles on the page.

Supplies:
Cardstock - Bazzill
Patterned Paper – My Mind’s Eye
Felt Letter Stickers & Embellishments - Making Memories
Rub ons – Basic Grey
Epoxy Snowflake – Kelly Panacci
Marker – American Crafts
Ink – Colorbox
Adhesive – Duck

:QUOTES: on OPPORTUNITY according to Collier, Hansen, & Sandburg

ROBERT COLLIER (1885-1950; motivational author):

“Start where you are. Distant fields always look greener, but opportunity lies right where you are. Take advantage of every opportunity of service.”

MARK VICTOR HANSEN (author, speaker):

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

CARL SANDBURG:
"Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected."

:SPONSORS: January 2010 AMOM Sponosrs

FEATURED SPONSORS:

TESSA ANN

Tessa Ann's handmade buttons are just the cutest thing EVER!

Her unique designs and vivid colors make them truly an element that will add that little something that makes your layout or crafting project extra special!

Here are just a couple of the new sets that she currently has available that caught my eye this month.

The first set of buttons on the left is called Love Birds and the second is Cherry Blossoms.

Don't they just have you dreaming of Valentine's Day and spring!?

You MUST check out her etsy shop today!

NICOLE LOMBARDO

Nicole is an amazing artist and every month she's got some great new custom designed die-cuts in her etsy shop. She is always adding new designs and colors just perfect for the season and/or holidays ahead.

Here's one new one that caught my eye on my last visit. It's called Love Scroll and will be perfect for any Valentine's Day themed layout!

Visit Nicole's shop and find something perfect for your next layout today!

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WOULD YOU LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BECOMING A SPONSOR OF THE AMOM BLOG? If so, please contact me and I would be happy to provide you with further details.

:LINK: What type are you?

I stumbled across something today (during another SNOW DAY at home...I am getting very tired of shoveling, by the way) that you've just got to try!!

It's called "What type are you?"

It is a interactive questionnaire of four simple questions and then informs you of your own personal type...typeface, that is.

As a scrapbooker, I have a little bit of a facination with fonts, so I have to admit that I was quite curious as to what typeface the headless man with the Freud-like accent would assign to me.

The result was Baskerville Italic...

...and I LOVE it...so much so that I immediately had to find it and download it! I mean - just look at those lovely, soft serifs and that it's worth a download for the 'and' symbol alone!

Once you're done with the quiz, you can also view the other 15 type possibilities and Baskerville Italic is exactly the one I would have picked myself. While there are other fonts that are interesting...no other one is quite 'me'.

I challenge you - check out "What type are you?" and come back and tell me your results. Do you think this quiz pegged you right? (You'll need a password and it is 'character'.)

Have fun!!

:LAYOUT: fall fun

In true form for my hubby (God bless him), one of his Christmas presents for me was significantly late due to the fact that he didn't place the order until two days before Christmas.

However, he was completely redeemed as soon as the package arrived a week later containing the following:

**the Fiskars That's Amore punches in medium and extra large...

**three SWEET Bazzill Dotted Swiss Trio packs - Cloverleaf, Blissful, and Phoenix...

**these even SWEETER chipboard alphabet stickers by Pink Paislee in four colors - Limeade, Cherry, Licorice, and Berry Blue.

The package included a few other items and some cute papers that had been on my wish list for awhile as well, but I wanted to highlight these three in particular because I put them to use right away on several of the layouts I created this past week.

For example, take a look at this one...

I've never been one for punches other than a few favorite deco edge punches and my oh-so-versitle circle punches, but these hearts punches are simply adorable!! I've used them on four different layouts already!

Also, I love the added texture that the little dots add to the Bazzill cardstock. It was the perfect compliment to the dotted pattern of this patterned paper by Pink Paislee.

Finally, the letters...oh, these letters are just scrumptous. I must admit that I am addicted to my alphabets - especially chipboard ones. I still love AC Thickers, but I think I might like these particular letters even a little bit more (if that's even possible :-))! I've already used every single one of the four colors!!

I created the word art in Photoshop and it reads:
“Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leave fall.” Elizabeth Lawrence

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee
Chipboard: Pink Paislee
Ink: Colorbox
Photo Corner Punch: EK Success
Corner Rounder: Marvy
Circle Punch: Marvy
Scallop Trimmer: Fiskars
Heart Punch: Fiskars
Font: American Typewriter, Aquarelle

:REVIEW: Time to Scrap by Kathy Fesmire

Just from the title alone, I knew that Kathy Fesmire's recent book - Time to Scrap: Techniques for Fast, Fun and Fabulous Scrapbook Layouts - would be a good fit for my needs.

Then, I identified an immediate bond with her when, in her introduction, she described scrapbooking as her 'creative outlet', but that family and work responsibilities didn't allow her as much time to scrap as she would like.

That's me! Exactly!

This book offers ideas for putting layouts together quickly, but with techniques and designs that you can still totally be proud of AND, in many cases, don't look quick at all!

The book is divided into 4 main chapters.

Chapter 1 - FAST
This chapter includes many great ideas for page creation in as little as 15-90 minutes. There are 9 featured techniques, each with 2-3 variations to keep your layouts looking fresh and original.

Chapter 2 - FUN
This chapter is full of interesting new techniques or unique twists on not-so-new ones. There are 8 featured techniques, each with 2-4 variations.

Chapter 3 - FRUGAL
Just as I don't have the time to match my desire to scrap, I also don't have the budget to match either. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this issue and Kathy offer several techniques in this chapter to help us stretch our stash. There are 9 featured techniqes, each with 2-8 variations.

Chapter 4 - FABULOUS
Here, Kathy focuses on how to use the principles of good design to make every page fabulous. There are 9 featured designs, each with 2-6 variations AND an accompanying sketch to highlight the fundimental elements of the design.

There are a few other fun features of this book. For example, there are 29 pictoral step-by-steps in the book that help the reader achieve the techniques featured int he book. All are achieved in 2-6 detailed steps.

All layouts include a clock icon that indicates the time necessary to recreate the look of the sample layout.

Scattered throughout the book are 'Make it Fast' (7), 'Make it Fabulous' (16), and 'Make it Frugal' (7) boxes that offer further useful and creative tips for making stunning layouts.

There are a total of 120 sample layouts included in this book. The talented contributing artists include the author herself as well as Jennifer Gallacher, Julie Johnson, Shannon Taylor and Shaute Wadley.

Even if you're short one scrapping time - perhaps especially - it's worth your time to take a gander at Time to Scrap by Kathy Fesmire.