Coordinates Collections

June Kit Project Video

You HAVE to watch this video for these reasons: 

1) the amazing project ideas and

2) you have to hear the accents Lisa picked up while on her vacation the last few weeks....she sure knows how to put a smile on my face! 

Thanks, Lisa!

Sneakster!

I hope you enjoyed creativity week and are bursting at the seams ready to play with your newly arriving June kits and the fabulous July kits coming to a doorstep near you in the future! I also want to wish my brother a very happy birthday today! :)

Here are some sneaks featuring my work with the July kit, Parade, as well as some projects made with the Pebbles, Inc. Tree House products from the Picnic Kit!

 

Speaking of sneaky, it's such a privilege to get to see the contents of the kits before they're posted in the store... here are some things you will LOVE about the upcoming August kits! Congrats to Raelynn E for coming up with the names:  FUN IN THE SUN & COOL BY THE POOL!  Email jamie@coordinatescollections.com for details about your prize!

FUN IN THE SUN

* the amazingly bright, bold, cheerful colors found in the Fancy Pants Rusted Sun collection!

* the collage of summer words on the American Crafts Heat Waves paper!

* glitter Thickers!

* the cleverly designed canvas borders in many shapes from Little Yellow Bicycle! 

COOL BY THE POOL

* selections from the Cosmo Cricket Material Girl line... so gorgeous! The detail in these patterns is amazing!

* an alphabet and coordinating accessories sheet from My Mind's Eye

* a little piece of Donna Downey! What's not to love there?!

Happy shopping! 

August Kits & Add-Ons!

As I type this I am anxiously awaiting Jamie's announcement for the names of these two super summery kits!  The first kit is so bright and cheery - centering on the Fancy Pants Rusted Sun line:

My *favorite* element of this kit are the LYB canvas sticker borders:

  You will get *3* of them in your kit!!!  Not only can you use them as a border on your layout, but don't be afraid to ink them, and paint them, and cut them up for cards or smaller embellishments for your projects.

Kit #2 is more muted, reminds me of a prairie for some reason, and all the posies that you'd find on a walk.  It started with Cosmo Cricket Material Girl and added some MME:

And my absolute favorite element of this kit is the My Minds Eye Sooo Cute Alpha:

 

These whimsical letters remind me of a circus... and each color has its own pattern, how fun is that?  I can't wait to hear what you'll be choosing this month!

 

How to make a paper cabbage rose

Happy Sunday to all !!

A few months ago, I created this layout using the Soul kit  (which is on sale right now) and was asked to do a little tutorial on how to make those cabbage roses and well...I finally got around to it !!!

 

Start by cutting a circle of your favorite patterned paper.The larger the circle the larger your finished flower will be.

Using a pencil draw a spiral from the outside of the circle towards the inside.

Using scissors cut as shown. Make sure to leave a spot in the middle about 1".

Ink the edges ,if you like and bend the edges of the outer portion of the "spiral" of paper.

 
Start from the outside and roll towards the middle. 

Add glue to the base and to adhere your cabbage rose to the base.

And VOILA !! Now you are ready to add this to your layout or card.

Hope this was helpful :)

Cheers,

Making the most of your kits

Hello, everyone! I hope you've all been enjoying Creativity Week here on the blog. To end the week, I thought I'd share some of the things I do to stretch my kits. I've sometimes been asked how I get so many projects out of just one Coordinates Collections kit and today I'm going to reveal a few of my "secrets"! I've include some examples along the way, too, of my tips in action.

1. Follow the pattern. I like to save my cardstock for cards, tags and accent pieces, so I try to use at least one of my patterned papers as my background. My layout "Just A Peek" shows a fabulous boldly patterned paper used as a background. “Hold Up My Wings” and "The Pink Room" are a couple more examples of patterned papers used as a background.

 

2. Mix it up.When shopping for add-ons, don't limit yourself to the add-ons listed for the kit. Look also at add-ons for past kits that have similar colors, and those for the other current kit, even if they don't seem to match from the preview pic. Jamie stocks tons of stuff, and it's easy to find other things that match. And very often, I'll pull in items from previous CC kits. For example, my layout "The Sun" was made with June's "Jill" kit, but the BG "Max & Whiskers" paper was an add-on for the "Jack" kit and the Thickers were leftover from May's "Funky" kit.

3. Color your world. Don't be afraid to bring in a new color. For example, with the “Flowers” kit, I added some yellow to several of my projects, even though the main colors were clearly pinks and greens. Generally speaking, if your colors are the same tone, they'll work together. In my "Forever" layout, the yellow came from Pink Paislee Artisan Tape and some scraps of yellow patterned paper. In "Then There Were Three", I added green to the mix using the "Dainty Lady" kit.

4. Girls vs. Boys. Worried that you've got yourself a brood of boys but have a girly kit to work with? Don't be. Even the most feminine of kits can produce masculine layouts, and vice versa. Tone down pretty prints by using them in small pieces on a neutral background, like I did with my “Paper Bag Afternoon” layout. Look at all the pinks and purples and swirly stuffs on this. And, in "You Make Me Happy", I created a layout about my daughter using the "Jack" kit. By adding a big Prima and some pretty ribbons (remember tip #3 about introducing a new color?), I was able to create something soft a feminine from a "boy" kit.

I hope you enjoyed these tips. I'll be posting more tips during next month's Creativity Week, so keep your eyes open. Happy scrappy Saturday, ladies!

{altered canvas tote}

Wow, it's finally Friday and I can share my altered canvas tote bag with you.  I've been dying to all week, but had to wait my turn.  When I saw these canvas products at CHA...I knew I needed one and as soon as they arrived in the store I snatched up one of these.  I've finally had a bit more free time(spring soccer came to an end) so I broke it out and got busy.

So here's the transformation.

From this....

To this....

Supplies:  Canvas Bag, Foam Stamp, Acrylic Paints, Ribbon Pleats, Buttons, Floss,& Sandpaper

Now for the "How To":

You want to start by applying a base coat of acrylic paint to your bag(if you don't want the natural look).  I find it much easier if you mist your bag first with water. Then brush on the acrylic paint which I watered down quite a bit.  When it dries it may feel a bit rough.  A tip I learned reading Donna Downey's blog is to lightly sand the canvas...believe it or not it softens it up.

Next I used my favorite "big" stamp(you saw it on my cork board project ).  This awesome wheat stamp by Donna Downey.

Using a foam brush I coated the stamp with acrylic paint and stamped the image on to my bag one color at a time.  Allow time for each color/layer to dry before stamping the next.  After these layers were dry I sanded once again.

Now it's time to embellish!  I chose to use some Pink Paislee ribbon pleats to creat flowers and buds.  The 3 large flowers were created by cutting one 12" pleat into thirds.  The smaller buds were cut from another pleat.  They are approximately 3 pleats each.

I wrapped the bottom of each bud with green embroidery floss, then glued/stitched to the bag.  The large flowers were glued /stitched to the bag, then a cream colored button was stitched in the center.

So there it is ...a really simple process.  If you are interested Jamie still has some great canvas products in the CC store.  Even though I used the tote bag you can apply these same steps to the apron or even a canvas wall hanging.  If you create something I'd love to see it in the gallery.

Until next week, happy scrapping friends!

August Kit Addons

The August kit addons will be available for preorder Thursday, July 1 by 10 am.  Remember the August kits and addons ship August 8-10.

KIT 1 EMBELLISHMENTS are sold separately.  The products shown below are only a few of the embellishments that will be available:

KIT 1 PAPER ADDON:

KIT 1 CARDSTOCK ADDON:

KIT 2 EMBELLISHMENTS are sold separately.  The products shown below are only a few of the embellishments that will be available:

KIT 2 PAPER ADDON:

KIT 2 CARDSTOCK ADDON:

Name the August Kits

Yes, you read that right....August....the AUGUST KITS need names already!  The August kits will be available for preorder and kit selection on Thursday, July 1st (happy birthday to me ha ha) by 10 am MST. 

Post name suggestions here on the Blog by Sunday, June 27 at midnight MST.  One lucky person will receive a fun gift from CC if their kit name suggestions are selected!

KIT 1 includes all NEW products: paper from the Fancy Pants Rusted Sun line; American Crafts Heat Wave line and Kaiser Devonshire line; Bazzill cardstock; and embellishments that include Fancy Pants Rusted Sun elements and printed ribbon, American Crafts glitter thickers, and LYB canvas borders (3 per kit).

KIT 2 includes all NEW products: paper from the Cosmo Cricket Material Girl line, My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary and So Sophie lines; Bazzill cardstock; and embellishments that include My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary accessory sheet and alphabet, Prima flowers and pearls & crystals, and a Donna Downey stitched word (adore).

Tomorrow I'll show you the fun paper, cardstock and embellishment addons that go with these fun kits!

Hand-stitched with Love

Want to add an interesting dimensional sentiment or title to your projects? Add hand-stitched lettering! It's very simple! You need: your computer, paper piercer, cardstock/patterned paper, embroidery floss, and a needle.

First, decide how large you would like your sentiment to be. Choose your font and print your word! Be sure the printed size is appropriate for your project.

Next, cut out the word and use removable tape (or teeny pieces of scotch tape like I did!) to adhere the word in place on your project.

The third step is to use your paper piercer (or needle, but I find the paper piercer easier to control) to make teeny holes all along the lines of your letters.

Following this step, you're ready to carefully remove the paper with your printed word. Leaving this:

Thread your needle with the desired embroidery floss. I usually use 3 strands. And sew! I use a backstitch most of the time.

Embellish around your sentiment, and voila! A hand-stitched greeting or title on a layout!

I hope you enjoyed this simple tutorial and try hand-stitching on your next project!

Deconstructing your supplies

Welcome to Creativity Week on the blog!  The design team has free reign this week, posting anything that tickles their fancy :)  Today I'm creatively inspired by two things:  Lyn's card sketch for the month, and deconstructing pre-made supplies to get more for your money.

Here's June's card sketch that I worked with:

and here's my finished card (I love literal interpretations :))

 

Here are the two pre-made products that I chose to deconstruct:

 

First is the fabric tag from this month's Jill kit.  I love how layered these tags are, and they were surprisingly easy to pull apart.  I pulled three layers but you could easily cut one or both and get a bit more.  The blue patterned backing is a lovely texture, and would be a great background to a title.  The second layer, with the mock calendar, needs just a small embellishment to cover the glue line.  And the top layer?  I used it on my card - I wanted the lace to be on its own, and just a hint of the blue to use with the patterned paper.

 

Next is the Bazzill Bling It - do you have some of these as well?  I have several - because I truly do love all the fun shapes (stars, flowers, hearts).  Lately though, I have fell in love with the itsy bitsy rhinestones they use in graduated sizes, and colors too!  I have found myself cutting them apart and using a bit here, a bit there, and using them for multiple projects instead of the original shape.  Think of all the possibilities!

 

Lastly, I used the Dear Lizzy fabric paper to create the faux ribbon on my card - it pleats and ruffles wonderfully - because it's self adhesive.  This was a fabulous addition to the Jill kit as well!  The patterned papers on the card are from Pink Paislee's Starlight and 365 Degrees collections - one in the store and one in the July Parade paper add-on!

Stay tuned all week for more creative ideas :)