Coordinates Collections

PCC Update - Putting It All Together

Hi! Cara here. Hope everyone is enjoying March so far; are you taking a ton of pictures for your PCC album? I admit that my February was a little sparse, but I'm getting back in the habit now. After all, I want cute photos to scrap for Project Calendar Collections!

First, let's take a little peak at February's Monthly Mini. Yes, it's all caps. That's the official name I'm going with, Monthly Mini. You like?

Fun fact - this mini is actually made from 3 pages that I cut out of a Maya Road chipboard book with an exacto knife (because I didn't need all 8 pages, and now I have 5 pages to use in another project!). I painted the pages with some turquiose craft paint (the cheap-o stuff from WalMart) and punched holes with my crop-a-dile.

 

I started my Monthly Mini with this cute piece (life is sweet) from the PCC starter kit - I just cut out the frame. Then (genius moment!) I traced that cute bracket shape four more times onto a piece of paper from the Echo Park Life is Good collection - the striped paper is the back of the pink paper shown below.

 

I used four pictures from the same day for this Monthly Mini - the first day that was warm enough for Henry to play outside for a bit. Also the day I realized his shoes no longer fit his big old feet. Grrr . . .

I just wrote my journaling around the pages, a few little lines to tell our story for the day. I think this is a good example of how flexible PCC is - if I wasn't doing PCC, I probably would have just slapped these four pictures on a layout, which would have been totally fine, but not nearly as fun :)

 

I finished by painting a super thin layer of Modge Podge over the entire book, just to protect it a bit more, and because I HATED the feel of the paint. The glossy texture is much nicer. (My pictures were printed out on matte photo paper, so I can't vouch for how well Modge Podge works on glossy photos, though I imagine it would be fine.)

For my regular layout, I started with a bunch of 4x6 photos. I trimmed some of them just a bit, and created two 12x12 pages based on the same basic blocked design. Again, I used papers + embellishments from the PCC Starter Kit and the Echo Park collection + some light pink cardstock from my stash (I don't know the color name, but these kits really go so well with SO MANY different colors.)

 

 

I didn't actually think we had done much in February, but as I went back through my Twitter + FaceBook posts I realized we really had. So there's my awesome tip for the month - go back through your Twitter, FaceBook, email, etc., to find some great info about your month!

I decided I'd use a 6x12 sheet from the PCC Main Kit along with a 6x12 page protector. One one side, I wrote all of my journaling, and on the other, I included pics from our wedding dress shopping trip for my sister.

  
 
So, really, I have a four-page layout for this month.

I know there was a lot of discussion on the board when we first announced PCC about what type of albums everyone was using and how we were all putting our projects together, so I wanted to share how my system was working for me.

I decided to NOT have a separate "PCC" album; I'm just putting these layouts right into my regular 3-ring albums from American Crafts. So far, so good. I've done a couple of other layouts that are stuck in this album "semi-chronologically", i.e., they're sort of in order, but I'm not too worried about the specifics.

Here, you can see this month's layout tucked in nice and neat in my album:

 

And here's that 6x12 page, stuck right in the middle. Cool, huh?

 
 

 OK, one last tip. I wanted to refer everyone to a set of blog posts by Katie Nelson AKA Katie the Scrapbook Lady. She does a "Monthly Roundup" each month on her blog, and I thought it might be really useful for anyone working on Project Calendar Collections! She asks herself the same 10 questions at the end of each month, and just takes a minute to reflect a bit. You can check out all her RoundUp posts HERE.

 That's all for now! Hope your day is FABULOUS.

 

Some More February PCC

Hi CCers! Linda here and ready to share my page for February PCC. Once again, I used the collage function in Shutterfly Studio — so quick and easy. I didn't take nearly as many pictures in February as I did in January, so this month a one-page layout is enough. But I used the main event — my nephew's (and godchild's) second b-day — as the focal picture, adding in a glimpse of the rest of the month (two days of baking, Todd taking a solo hike in the snow, and our Valentine's brunch at a new restaurant).

Once I pulled the pics into my collage, the page came together in about 15 minutes! The PCC kit, add-ons, and personal stash that I've set aside make PCC spring to life in a flash. Now that I have two months done, I need to find the perfect album. Started hunting this week.

Here's my page!

In addition to PCC kit contents, I used a Crate journaling spot (like January, just went with quick notes on the month) and a 3D flower from K&Co. Now let's get that gallery hopping with PCC layouts!

My turn!

I've gotten off to a slower start than I planned with my PCC album. But as I shared previously, I began making page kits for each month.

To keep my album cohesive, each month will be a 2 page 8.5 x 11 spread. Each layout will have a Life Documented month card with some papers or stickers, mixed with either Basic Grey Kraft Cardstock or Bazzill Cardstock. I really loved the vintage distressed look of the PCC Kit, so I've decided to add some fun artsy touches here and there to reinforce that vibe. And since I've embraced my kitschy cute side, I'm doing loosely themed backgrounds for my photos.  (Which by the way have to still be edited and printed, once I have a bit of spare time.)

For example...

On my January spread, I was inspired by the neverending snowfall that we had. I used Kraft as my base, then added lots of snowflake rubons from my Frosty Porch  kit. I created a snowy landscape with some chipboard and sparkly cardstock. 

  
 
I chose pink and red for February.  I border punched my Sugar Cookie Cardstock base. The plaid paper is some old October Afternoon from my stash. The colors were too perfect not to use it! Next, I added the border sticker and some of the paper PCC elements. No February page is complete without hearts, so I punched some from cardstock.  Here's what I did to add a little shabby chic feel:

 
Crumple hearts up, then ink edges with pink ink.                                                                                  Paint over whole surface with some homemade cream glimmer glam.  Wipe off excess with paper towel.  Paint over surface with orange distress stickles.

So that's my PCC work for now. I need to get busy snapping pictures for March! Here's a sneek of what I've put together for this month. I think I 'll be needing my shamrock punch, wink-wink!

 
 

 

Sarah's February PCC

Can you believe we're almost half way through March?  We've been having some very spring-like weather lately, but I'm not ready for it to get any warmer!

Today I get to share my February PCC projects with you.  I'm still following an 8x8 format, with 2 - 2 page spreads per month.  My first page is always going to contain a 4x6 photo and the month titles that came with the base kit.

I used a lot of the Echo Park Life is Good line again this month, and added that big MME journaling card from my stash.  I added some border punches and the punched doily and called it good.  I love how easily these have been coming together each month.

In addition to the 4x6 on my opening page, this month I also printed a 4x6 collage, an 8x8 collage, and an 8x10 collage.  The 8x10 was just to added an additional panorama photo that I used on my main journaling page.

I didn't end up using all of the 2x3s that I printed, but I've got them for other projects

You can see, like in the 8x8 below, that I'm intentionally leaving white space to add embellishment - - but let's be clear - I'm NOT pre-planning my embellishments.  But you can also see that my photos don't quite line up along the right edge - - here, I just planned on adding a strip of paper along the edge to cover it up.

Below is the 8x10, again leaving some space for embellishment, and then adding on a 5.5 x 2" photo to just trim off.  

Let me know if you have any questions!

  

Debbie's March Tutorial & Challenge: Shaped Cards

Happy March to you! Debbie here, to share my tutorial for this month.

Do you enjoy making cards? I do, but sometimes find myself doing the same style of card over and over, usually a rectangular shaped card.  So when I received my March kits and add ons, I decided to change it up. 

I challenged myself to create 3  different shaped cards.

 
I started with the basic circle. I began by cutting out 2 same sized circles using my circle cutter. One from patterned paper, and one from purple cardstock.

  
I painted the edge of the card with some homemade glimmer glam and inked with purple ink.

 
Then came the fun part... decorating the card front with stickers and bling,  just some of the kit addons in the CC Store.

Decorate one side of the card bottom, if desired. I used a smaller circle of patterned paper, a journal spot, and a few little extras to decorate the inside.

 

Flip the card back over, decorated side down, and score the back piece approximately 1/2 inch from the top. Open the crease so the circle lies flat.

 
 
Flip over again, so that the decorated card interior is face up.                                                              Apply adhesive to the folded back area above the crease.

 
Match up the two sides, card front on top and adhere.

Now you have a card that opens nicely!

 
Next, I went searching online and found templates to print and use to make shaped cards. I found a bunch on the   Hero Arts website and on Stampington & Co. Here are the links to the two I used.

Crown Template

Onsie Template

 So for my crown...

I cut out the template and lightly traced it onto a cardstock card I had already creased and cut to size. Leave the card folded, so when you cut out your shape, you are cutting out both sides of the card. You are cutting, leaving portions of the card fold intact.

Next, trace another crown onto patterned paper. Adhere to one side of your cardstock crown card. This is your cardfront.

 
 
Now embellish as desired. I punched some circles for the points of my crown. I outlined the circles with green Stickles, then more bling. I used a pink marker to outline the card and make the whole thing more defined. Cute! 

 
Finally, a onesie card. Super cute for a birth announcement or congrats card.

 
 
 
Same steps used:

1. Cut out template.

2. Trace onto prefolded cardstock card. The shoulders / sleeves are on the fold line.

3. Embellish as desired.

Now, while I used girlish papers, you could easily adapt them for a boy. Of course the circle shape would work for any type of card.

My challenge to you is to create some shaped cards. Since this challenge will be open until April 10th, you have time to create more than one card. :0) Cards must be newly created for this challenge.  The winner will be determined by random, with each card being one chance. So the more you make, the better your chance to win! Feel free to use the templates I did,  create your own, or try one of these.

Don't forget to :

• Upload the challenge projects to the ‘Contests and Challenges' section of the CC Gallery in the Monday's Challenges folder by Sunday, April 10th at midnight PST.
• Include the name of the Challenge in your title.
• Post a URL LINK of the project into the thread for the Monday Challenge for that week on the Message Board

 You MUST upload to the Monday's Challenges section in the Gallery AND provide a URL LINK on the Message Board for your entry to be valid. Posting the project image in the Message Board thread only does not meet the rules, and won't be counted as an entry. Challenge projects do not need to use a CC Monthly kit.  The winner will be announced on April 11th  on the CC Blog and CC Message Board.

Have Fun!

 

 

Marielle's March kit ideas

Well,here I am !!! I am a little late with my post today,please forgive me !!!! Ever feel like you're a little brain dead ??I had the pleasure of creating with the Party Time kit this month and  I loved working with it ...what's not to love Fancy Pants and Jillibean soup !!

 
                 Hey mister DJ put a record on

For this layout, I used the red cardstock as a base and added strips of the striped FP paper and a ruled Basic Grey Basics paper from a previous CC purchase. I made a few different sized circles (because you all know I love 'em !!) and trimmed 2 of them with that Maya Road pleated ribbon. I hand cut a few of the flowers and the # 3. The mini alphas are for my stash and the DJ letters were made using my Cricut.

 

Next is this layout of my niece striking a pose on the beach !!

 
Lots of Jillibean goodness on this one ,including the Pasta Fagioli from the store (sorry, they sold out !) I handmade a few flowers and banners for this layout. Here's a close up of the flowers.

 
 
So fun that I could use this wood Bingo piece here (she was 4 when this photo was taken.)

and finally a little card....I made the grass using my Cricut.

 
I am also working on a mini album which came with this super fun kit (I will post it soon...it's a birthday themed album !!)

Hope you all have a great week and find a little scrappy time !!

 
 
 

Stacey's Sweet & Sassy Kit Ideas

Happy Saturday!

I got to play with the Sweet & Sassy kit this month, and I had expected - really planned - to do "girly" layouts with it! But when I spread the papers out on my desk, I just knew that these Easter pictures of my youngest boy from a few years ago, would be perfect.

I am a consistently "square" scrapper, and this layout is no exception - I set up a layered square background before adding photos and journaling. The kit's Thickers have a wonderful, huge set of brackets that I placed around my journaling to keep it from floating around...

I made a strip of photos that is slightly bigger than the inner box to break up the "square-ness" just a tiny little bit.

The egg, bunny, and heart are all punches from Fiskars.

In my "Sprinkler Girl" layout, I created another square, frame-inside-a-frame design, which I broke up a little with varied sizes of half circles to make a border across the top. The outer frame is also saved from being too "perfect" by sightly overlapping the corners and intentionally slanting them a tiny bit. So...even though I like to use squares, they don't have to be boring!

When I was playing around with my scalloped border punch, trying to decide which kit paper to use for a decorative edge, I found that the scallops were really fun as a layered block! I played with the spacing and placement of colors and patterns until I was pretty happy with it.

I rarely create a layout without journaling, but I have already done a layout with the story behind these photos, so I just gave it a title and left it at that. The title uses a sticker from the Echo Park add-on sticker sheet and some old Thickers I had in my stash. At first, the white Thickers were kind of plain, but the Prima e-line crystals really added some sparkle!

I lightly sanded this butterfly and inked the edges to give it a distressed feel...all of the paper is from the Sweet & Sassy kit, and the rub-on is one I have been saving for just the right card (smile).

Have a lovely weekend!

Giveaway Winner and Friday's Fab Find

Happy Friday, everyone!  

Before I show off this week's Friday's Fab Find, I get to announce the winner of the first March Giveaway - a $20 gift certificate to the CC Store, sponsored by Jillibean Soup and Fancy Pants, two awesome companies whose products are featured in the March Party Time kit.  Ready?  Congrats to... KathScraps! Yay!  Please email jamie@coordinatescollections.com by 3/25 to claim your prize.

For everyone else, make sure you've claimed all three possible entries to the second March Giveaway.  You could still be a winner!

This week's Friday's Fab Find is from scrappin in AK.  She created this layout for the Monday's Challenge to use a tutorial in the Tutorials Forum.

I love the diagnonal line of the flowers, how the journaling spot fits in with them, and the pink, stitched frame around the edited photo.  How cool is that?

Be sure to visit her gallery and leave her some love on this awesome layout!

March Giveaway #2

The March SWEET 'N SASSY kit and Sweet 'n Sassy Addons inlcude beautiful products from Echo Park and American Crafts:

 

Coordinates Collections, Echo Park and American Crafts are teaming up to offer a $20 Gift Certificate GIVEAWAY!!  

Simply post to this blog entry by Thursday, March 17th and tell us what is your favorite 'sweet'.  You can receive a second entry into the random drawing if you are currently a Fan or become a CC Fan on Facebook!  Simply indicate in the post that you are a CC FB Fan. You can receive a third entry by posting a comment on the CC Fan Page telling us your favorite sweet.  The lucky winner will be announced on Friday, March 18th here on the CC Blog.

Be sure to take a look at the Design Team Kit Ideas using the Party Time kit.

The CC Store carries Echo Park products and American Crafts products.

Kimberly's March Kit Ideas

Hello, readers. Before I get started with my kit ideas, I'd like to say a very heartfelt and humble thank you to everyone who has encouraged me throughout my son, Ryan's, illness and his recent passing.

Although I've not met any of you, you are all close in my heart, and your messages and prayers sustain me. The photos of you in red and the little "For Ryan" signs brought me to tears. And the blog post in Ryan's honor had me bawling. I am heartbroken, but blessed, too. Thank you.

One of the things I love about CC's kits is that they are small enough that I don't feel overwhelmed but full of enough stuff that I can create several projects. Even after the 5 projects I made this month, I still have enough paper left to make another layout and at least a couple of cards.

For March, I worked with the yummy "Party Time" kit, creating 3 layouts and 2 cards. And remember that little Maya Road board book that came in the kit? I've got something with that in the works, too, that I hope to be able to share with you later this month.

Today, I'm going to highlight one March project in particular, my layout titled "Hey, Sweet Boy (Mama Misses You)."

I started with the flip side of Jillibean Soup's Pasta Fagioli "Meatballs" paper. At first glance, the pale green floral print may seem very feminine, but the muted color and small size of the print makes into a great neutal paper, so it could really be used on a multitude of projects or themes.

 

I chose black and red to be my main colors to embellish with, to give the paper in a "boy" feel. The photo is a 4x6 trimmed to 4x4. To anchor the photo and make sure it got top focus, I added a slim white mat and a wider black mat. To compliment the black mat, I used black again for my title alphas and for the ribbon across the bottom.

One of the things I like to do is add an unexpected color, in this case, a rich yellow from a bit of paper ribbon and a couple of butttons. When doing this, I typically keep the new color in small amounts, just to add a pop, otherwise it becomes overwhelming and the key elements of your project (photo, journaling, etc.) lose focus.

 

I made sure the red was balanced by using it in several places and in varying amounts: the Prima flowers (most of the red), the banner (a "medium" amount of red), and in the subtitle alphas (a small amount of red). Notice how I offset the two red Primas by placing the larger one apart from the smaller, and complimenting the smaller one with a small, neutral colored one? This ensures that all of your red isn't in one place, giving visual balance to the color.

Lastly, I want to share how I made the little banner. It was very easy peasy! I used a 1" circle punch and punched half-circles from a piece of scrap kit paper. You could punch whole circles and cut them in half, but this seemed easier to me. Either way works, so do what's easiest for you. I tried to keep the pieces about the same size, but didn't worry too much if they werent.

Next, I lined them up on the page where I wanted them, leaving a tiny bit of space between them. You could have the edges touching or overlapping, too. Whatever look you like best. After placing them where I wanted them, I glued each one into place, then added a couple of rows of machine stitching across the top, to create the banner. Glueing them down before stitching is imperative, otherwise the pieces will shift during stitching. You could also hand stitch or doodle the banner "rope" or even use rub-ons. To finish up the banner, I curled up the edges just a bit with my fingernail, to add a little dimension.

Thanks for checking in today. I hope I've inspired you to create. Love and hugs, y'all.

Jen's Party Time Projects

And what a party it was!  Loved the mix of papers in this kit...Fancy Pants "It's Your Day" and Jillibean Soup "Pasta Fagioli".  Two totally different lines but they look fabulous together, you can make "themey" party projects or you can just scrap the everyday with this kit.

My favorite layout this month is actually using photos from Valentines Day.  My son loves bacon, so when I saw an ad in the paper for a local store selling chocolate covered bacon...guess what he got for his gift?!  I could not bring myself to try this creation...but he assures me  it's delicious.

On this layout I used both sides of the JBS "blended beans" paper, red cardstock, one of the Jenni Bowlin die cut journaling shapes and the paint dabber included in the kit.  I had to paint the alphas I used in the title with the dabber since I didn't have enough in my stash of one color.  From the CC store I picked up the Jillibean Soup Pasta Fagioli sprouts...I used three on this layout(two are layered together).  From my stash I added the kraft cardstock and some Jillibean corrugated stars.

Lately I've been adding a lot of handrawn doodles/embellishments to my pages.  On this page I added an outline to the pattern papers and cardstock heart with a brown pen.  Around the outside of the square mat I drew a very small border.

I drew it by hand with the same brown pen (American Crafts Precision Pen) and then colored it in with a brown pencil.  Just a fun little touch that pulls all the elements together.

I loved the pattern paper on this next layout, but I sometimes find something this busy hard to use.  (Usually it will sit in my stash so I can just look and drool or I just use a small piece)  This time I was determined to use it.  And I had the perfect subject...I became the mother of a teenager this month! (Yikes)  I knew I wanted to do a banner with "13" on it, so I cut out "13" from the paper...the hole is now covered by cardstock.

I think when you use a piece of paper this bold you need to ground it with some solids or a very subtle print.  I chose to use a piece of the blue cardstock in the kit and a piece of brown from my stash.  For the banner I cut a strip of paper from the FP "Hoopla" paper and then cut the strip into approx 4" segments.  I trimmed one end to create the bottom of my pennants on each piece and then cut a strip of paper from the Jillibean "meatballs" paper slightly narrower than the "hoopla" piece.  I glued a piece of the "meatball" paper to two of the pennants and glued the "13" to the other.  Then all you have to do is roll up the untrimmed end to the length you desire.  I threaded a piece of the Jillibean twine that was available in the store(sorry it's now sold out) threw the rolled section and attached to my page.  The bottom left corner has a few more Pasta Fagioli sprouts, a corrugated star(from my stash) and some Jillibean pins wrapped in twine clustered together. (you get 2 different colored pins in the kit...I used a matching pin from my stash)

Also included in this kit is a Maya Road chipboard mini album.  My plans are to make a little "artistic" album about myself. So far I've primed all my pages with white acrylic paint and completed the cover and intro page...

The beginning of the intro page...

After painting the page white I used the paint dabber from my kit(I got blue) to make the circles.  After they dried I lightly sanded to knock down some of the edges and then outlined the circles with a black Sharpie pen.

Here's my finished page..

And here's the start of another page...

It's a heart (obviously) made from bits of paper from the kit.  I adhered them with glue overlapping as I went.  The outside edges of the page were painted with an orange dabber that I bought in the CC store.(I think this color is sold out now).

I have to finish this page and thought of a great idea for another page.  I think this will be a fun little place to express myself through art, quotes, and pictures.  As I finish pages I will upload them to my gallery.

Oh and one last little card using papers from the kit, the pin, and some stuff from my stash...

Hope you all have a great day!