Nichol Spohr LLC

From Start to Finish | August Fun

This week's From Start to Finish layout features the photo collage from yesterday's photoshop tutorial (found HERE). I am getting close to finishing all my month in review layouts for last year. And I need to get started on this year's. I really enjoy these layouts that give me a glimpse of our everyday life in a single page. Even if I never get around to scrapping each and every individual event or snippet of life, I still have recorded a great overview that is wonderful for referencing the passage of time and the moments that I never want to forget.

I went with a bright, primary color scheme for this summer themed month in review layout. The new Bella Blvd. Family Dynamix collection was perfect plus I added a couple of papers from an older Bella Blvd. collection, Sunny Happy Skies and one from Doodlebug. The wide white border matted on black helps make the bright colors pop.

I pieced the background with strips of patterned paper. This technique allows the use of many patterned papers but by grouping them together, it gives the illusion of a single sheet or design so as to not appear too busy.

I used minimal embellishments: a Bella Blvd. sticker, punched clouds, clear heart buttons and word stickers.

I printed the journaling on vellum and sewed it on top of a grid design patterned paper to help it stand out from the bright background. A sticker strip and patterned paper border help divide it from the photo border.

In keeping with the rest of my month in review layouts, I used another title from the Silhouette store and added another Silhouette store die cut word to it:

august_outline_C00701_19547 

handwritings_fun_C00035_27205 

HOW TO

 

SUPPLIES (click on the photos below for links):

Silhouette SD	Tim Holtz Scissors	Cloud Large Squeeze Punch	Cloud Extra Large Squeeze Punch
Circles Foam Tabs	Premium Cut Line Paper Trimmer	Corner Chomper	Swimming Pool Dot Grid Petite Print Paper
Swimming Pool Daisy Stripe Petite Print Paper	White 12x12 AC Cardstock Pack	Heart to Heart Punch	Alpha + Bits Family Dynamix Stickers
Borders N' Blocks Family Dynamix Collection	Quadrants Family Dynamix Collection Paper	The Littlest Things Family Dynamix Collection Paper	Tight Knit Family Dynamix Collection Paper
Mother's Day Family Dynamix Collection Paper	Creamsicle Clouds Sunny Happy Skies Paper	Sunny Happy Skies Blurbs Journaling Stickers	Black Cardstock Pack
Short Stories Sophisticates Paper	Clear Bitty Buttons

2010 MONTHS IN REVIEW LAYOUTS

January 2010 Layout

February 2010 Layout

March 2010 Layout

April 2010 Layout

May 2010 Layout

October 2010 Layout

November 2010 Layout

December 2010 Layout

I have the layouts for June and July finished and will be sharing soon. :) That leaves September which I will be working on ASAP.

Thanks for stopping by!

Creating a Photo Collage/Grid in Photoshop

Today I am sharing one of my most requested tutorials: 

Creating a Photo Collage Grid in Photoshop.

*disclaimer* I am NOT very Photoshop savvy. This is just what works for me and how I have created the photo collages for my month in review style layouts (see THIS post).

I would recommend viewing this on youtube rather than my blog as this is a wide format video.

 

Check back tomorrow to see the latest in my From Start to Finish series on Two Peas using the photo collage I created in the video. 

Have a super day!

 

Lily Pad Cards

I would like to encourage you to check out a fabulous new blog that is premiering on the 1st of April... Lily Pad Cards, plus the grand opening of InLinkz.com (the fabulous website I use to post the links/photos of my supply lists)!

Prior to the premiere, Lily Pad Cards is hosting a blog hop starting today and going through April 1st. Each day, 7 blogs will be featured (I will be participating on the 1st of April). 

So start HERE to get started on the blog hop journey today and enjoy the inspiration and activities and don't forget to register to win some fantastic prizes!

Happy Monday!

Sketchbook 3 Class with Kelly Purkey ***Reminder & Sneak Peek***

I just wanted remind everyone that you have until April 1st to sign up for Kelly Purkey's new Sketchbook 3 class. This isn't only a scrapbooker's sketch class. Jennifer McGuire will be supplying card samples for each of the 12 sketches!

Join Kelly Purkey and friends for Sketchbook 3!  This is a self-paced four week class filled with fresh sketches, easy instructions, beautiful examples, and lots of fun.  From April 4th to April 29th a PDF will be delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  By the end of the class, you'll have a complete sketchbook of 12 original sketches, 38 layouts, and an additional 38 sketches based on those creative pages. All of the examples are brand new layouts, exclusive to this class... you won't see them anywhere else. The best part is that you will be receiving an example layout from Kelly for each of the sketches, along with two (or more) example layouts from a very talented contributor. 

Each PDF for Sketchbook 3 will also include a card designed by the amazing Jennifer McGuire based on the daily sketch.

The class will also include a private message board for questions and sharing ideas on the Studio Calico website (http://tinyurl.com/4pdmyud). Visit Kelly's blog (http://www.kellypurkey.typepad.com) for more information and to see the full list of contributors.

How about a couple of sneak peeks?

I am lucky enough to be a contributor for one of the sketches in this class. In order to see this layout plus all the layouts created by the talented contributors, you will have to sign up for the class. :)

Speaking of contributors for the class, here is the list of gals who are supplying designs for this class:

Ali Edwards, Amy Tan, April Foster, Cindy Tobey, Davinie Fiero, Elizabeth Kartchner, Erica Hernandez, Gillian Nelson, Jamie Waters, Jen Johner, Jennifer McGuire, Keisha Campbell,Kelli Crowe, Kelly Goree, Kelly Noel, Kristina Werner, Lisa Truesdell, Liz Tamanha, Maggie Holmes, Marcy Penner, Nichol Magouirk, Robyn Werlich, Sarah Champion, Shimelle Laine,Stephanie Howell, and Suzy Plantamura

Happy Sunday friends!

Guest Designer | Penny Black Blog

Today I am the guest designer over on the Penny Black Blog. I absolutely adore Penny Black stamps so this was a real treat for me to create some cards using these fun stamps!

I have three cards to share with you.

This first one features this darling little girl resting her elbows on a tabletop with a teapot and teacup. I have been drawn to teacups ever since I was a little girl. My grandmother collects them and has a whole glass cabinet dedicated to her collection. This stamp tugged on my heartstrings and reminded me of my grandma. 

I first stamped the image on Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored her in with the following Copic markers. 

Then I stamped the image again and only colored in the teacup and teapot. 

I cut all the pieces out using my Tim Holtz scissors.

I paper pieced the background with October Afternoon and MME patterned papers. I added a bit of lace and ribbon to the card where the two patterns met.

I adhered the cut out teacup and teapot to the full stamped design using pop dots. Then I added pop dots to the back of the entire stamped and cut out piece and adhered her to the card right above the ribbon.

To finish my card I stamped a Penny Black greeting on some PTI Fine Linen cardstock and punched it out with a label punch. I adhered this piece with pop dots as well.

The second card I created features Penny Black signature Hedgehog. No one does Hedgehogs like Penny Black! I adore these little guys. So cute and fun!

I created the cloud background by first stamping the hedgehog in the airplane, masking the image and applying punched cloud masks over the background and airbrushing. I kept layering the cloud masks until the entire surface was airbrushed.

I stamped the greeting over the cloud background.

I finished the card with patterned paper strips, ricrac trim and buttons.

Copic colors used for the hedgehog plane card:

For my third card I went with bright, primary colors. 

I used Momento markers to color in the greeting for a multi-color effect. So easy with stunning results.

I stamped the bear design right next to the title, slightly overlapping the designs and colored in the sweet bear with balloon with copics.

Once the coloring was finished, I used my paper trimmer to cut the white strip, being careful to avoid the balloon. Then I took my scissors and cut around the balloon. Then I machine stitched along each side (again avoiding the balloon).

I punched a bunch of rainbow colored scallop borders and adhered them to the card base, finishing with the stamped strip.

A few punched hearts with gems completed the card.

Close up of stamping/coloring.

SUPPLIES

Scoring Board	Stamp-a-ma-jig	Stamping Mark Paper	Copic Markers
Memento Tuxedo Black	Tim Holtz Scissors	Stamp Press	Cloud Large Squeeze Punch
Cloud Extra Large Squeeze Punch	Tiny Attacher	Retro Label Punch	Circles Foam Tabs
Premium Cut Line Paper Trimmer	Corner Chomper	Snow Notecards	Neenah Solar White Cardstock
Memento Camp Fire Marker Set	Girls Night Out Marker Set	Greenhouse Marker Set	Ocean Marker Set
Non Stick Craft Sheet	Airbrush Compressor	Airbrush Kit ABS-3	Heart to Heart Punch
Buddies Buttons Stella Rose	Mabel Stella Rose Collection 6x6	Scallop Sentiment Border Punch	Good Catch
Hedgehopper	Thinking of You	Gertie Stella Rose 6x6 Paper Pad	Thrift Shop 8x8 Paper Pad

OTHER SUPPLIES

• 3629E ...special treasures Stamp by Penny Black
• 3436H bold thank... Stamp by Penny Black
• 3409E to say hi Stamp by Penny Black

Be sure to check out the Penny Black Blog daily for loads of inspiration and fabulous projects. 

By the way, I got to see THIS stunning card in person at a recent stamping/scrapping retreat I was at. One word: STUNNING. Truly a work of art. 

Have a super weekend!

Lawn Fawn Lunar Lights Stamp Set ***WINNER***

Congrats to:

Karen G

Froggietalks (Karen G) said...

What an adorable card Nichol! And congrats on making the DT for LawnFawn.

ReplyMarch 22, 2011 at 10:51 AM

I've emailed you. :)

Thanks for all the kind comments everyone!

From Start to Finish | Favorites at Five

Every once in awhile I like to record the "things" that my kids are into at the moment. These pages are always fun to look back upon years later to see how their hobbies and interests change and grow as they do. :) 

I chose to focus on my youngest son's current favorite toys for this week's page. The Crate Paper Toy Box collection had the perfect accents to compliment the photos.

To create the photo grid I used Kerri Bradford's Picture That Go Long Kit available for purchase and download HERE: 

I am particularly fond of the white space between each photo. And with Kerri's kits, collages like this are super easy to create. I just followed her step by step directions HERE and had instant success! You will be seeing lots of these types of collage or storyboard style photos on upcoming layouts. I can't quit using them!!!

I stamped my title this week and didn't use a single Silhouette die cut design.

I know... it's craziness!

I'm sure I'll be back to my Silhouette titles/die cutting next week! ha!

This alphabet stamp set is from Studio Calico and is just the perfect height and size for titles. I stamped each letter in a different color for a rainbow effect that mimics the colors and design of the page.

I used a collage of die cut pieces from the Crate Paper Collection Kit to draw emphasis to the theme of the page. I included a KI Memories button paper clip and a couple of October Afternoon label stickers to complete the look.

I used those half circle tabs at the each end of the border. I do this often. I like the way it really adds to the design plus gives it a nice finished look. Other examples can be seen HERE and HERE and HERE.

HOW TO

 

SUPPLIES

Citrus Button Embellishments Clips	Tim Holtz Scissors	Tiny Attacher	2.25Inch Circle Punch
Postage Stamp Border Punch	Premium Cut Line Paper Trimmer	Circle 1.5 Punch	Kraft 12x12 Cardstock
Cough Syrup Dye Ink	Brown Sugar Dye Ink	Thrift Shop Word Stickers	Chicken Feed Jenni Bowlin Ink
Toy Box 6x12 Phrase Stickers	Play Date Toy Box Collection Paper	Games Toy Box Collection Paper	Crate Paper Collection Kit
Build Toy Box Collection Paper	Toy Box Buttons	Friendly Neighborhood Collection Paper	Table Cloth For the Record Paper
Borders For the Record Paper	Natalee Alphabet Clear Stamp Set

If you like the look of the photo grids/collages, check out Kerri's other kits:

Storyboard #1 Kit

Storyboard #2 Kit

Picture This Squared Kit

Picture That Squared Kit

Picture This/That Go Long

(Picture That shown above, used in today's layout)

Picture This Kit

Picture That Kit

These have completely changed my scrapbooking/picture printing approach lately. I find myself not having to agonize and think and rethink how to resize my photos. I simply drag them into my template and a couple of clicks later I have a beautiful collage all ready to print and add to my page. So simple. So easy.

Thanks for stopping by today!

p.s. Don't forget you have until 11:59 p.m. CST or 10:00 p.m. PST tonight to enter the giveaway for the Lunar Lights Lawn Fawn Stamp set HERE.

 

New Design Team: Lawn Fawn + a GIVEAWAY!!!

Happy Tuesday!

I am thrilled today to announce that I've joined the Lawn Fawn Design Team! I am a huge fan of the stamps and I'm super excited to get to play and create with them on a regular basis. :)

In honor of this new gig I thought I'd share a card + video showcasing FIVE Lawn Fawn stamp sets. I love mixing and matching designs to suit my needs. My oldest son celebrated a birthday here not long ago and needed thank you cards to send out to family and friends. I created several of these cards assembly line style and now they are all ready for him to write a quick note and place in an envelope to mail.

Don't forget to scroll down to the end of this post for a chance to win a Lawn Fawn Stamp Set!

The base of the card is a Hero Arts note card trimmed down on one side to create a 4.25" square.

Then I stamped the background with Lawn Fawn's Teeny Tiny Backdrops using white Colorbox Ink. The Teeny Tiny Backdrops is one of my very favorite Lawn Fawn stamp sets for several reasons:

1. The designs are cute and go with almost anything.
2. The size of the stamped images are tiny and great for all kinds of stamping. I love stamping them in Versamark, embossing with powder and inking over them like I did in THIS sample. Or stamping them in a shade slightly darker than the cardstock for a tone on tone look or stamping them in white like I did here. I really think the hearts or stars would be cute stamped in black with the "open" hearts/stars colored in with markers for a pop of color.

I colored in the raccoon and birthday hat with copics and cut them out. I added googly eyes to my critter. I can't seem to not add googly eyes to cute critters. I think they add such a fun touch.

I stamped the banner with black Memento ink, then colored in each of the letters on the greeting with Memento markers before stamping it onto the banner and cutting it out.

I popped up all the cut out pieces and adhered them to a vellum die cut outlined with a white signo pen. 

HOW TO

 

SUPPLIES:

Sizzix Big Shot	Copic Markers	Memento Tuxedo Black	Copic X-Press
Tim Holtz Scissors	Stamp Press	Bannerific	Teeny Tiny Backgrounds
Hats Off to You	Glossy Accents	Circles Foam Tabs	White Pen
Premium Cut Line Paper Trimmer	Corner Chomper	Memento Camp Fire Marker Set	Greenhouse Marker Set
Ocean Marker Set	Non Stick Craft Sheet	Copic Markers	Critters in the Forest
Plus One	Frost White Ink	Critters in the Forest	Plus One
Corner Chomper	R20 Blush	YR68 Orange	YG23 New Leaf
W00 Warm Gray	W1 Warm Gray	W3 Warm Gray	W5 Warm Gray
W7 Warm Gray	R24 Prawn	R29 Lipstick Red	Y19 Napoli Yellow
Azure Folded Cards	Teeny Tiny Backdrops	Hats Off To You	Bannerific

HOW ABOUT A GIVEAWAY?!!!

To celebrate this new DT position, Kelly is generously offering up 

Lunar Lights

TO WIN THIS SET

Leave me a comment here on this blog post (please be sure if you're getting this via email or twitter or facebook you click to go to the actual blog post to comment... I don't want to leave anyone out!) by Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 11:59 p.m. CST. The winner will be announced on the Lawn Fawn Blog Thursday the 24th.

Thanks and good luck!

Sketchbook 3 Class with Kelly Purkey ***WINNER ANNOUNCED***

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Lisa!

Lisa said...

I like 2 page layouts which is why I have not taken a class from Kelly before - I mostly scrap events that need more than one page. But love that this class has 50 sketches total! Yowza!!

ReplyMarch 17, 2011 at 07:24 PM

I have emailed you! Please be sure to check your inbox for an email from me! 

 

P.S. The winner for Kerri Bradford's Picture This/That Go Long kit (announced HERE) has not emailed me back yet. If I don't hear back from her today I will choose another winner tomorrow morning. Please check back if you submit a comment for a giveaway. I don't want anyone missing out! Thanks much!

Have a super Monday!

Sketchbook 3 Class with Kelly Purkey ***GIVEAWAY***

Happy St. Patty's Day friends!

I am so thrilled to be able to offer one lucky person a spot in Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook 3 Class. I had the best time participating in Sketchbook 2 and I highly, highly recommend Kelly's classes! Not only is she an amazing scrapbooker, she is an amazing friend. 

If you would like a chance to win a spot in her upcoming sketch class, please leave a comment here on this blog post (make sure it is on this post and not facebook, twitter or a reply to the email you get if you subscribe via feedburner) telling me if you prefer one or two page layouts by Sunday, March 20th, 2011 11:59 p.m. CST. 

p.s. If you have already paid for and signed up for Kelly's class and you win...she will refund your payment!

A little info on the class:

Join Kelly Purkey and friends for Sketchbook 3!  This is a self-paced four week class filled with fresh sketches, easy instructions, beautiful examples, and lots of fun.  From April 4th to April 29th a PDF will be delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  By the end of the class, you'll have a complete sketchbook of 12 original sketches, 38 layouts, and an additional 38 sketches based on those creative pages. All of the examples are brand new layouts, exclusive to this class... you won't see them anywhere else. The best part is that you will be receiving an example layout from Kelly for each of the sketches, along with two (or more) example layouts from a very talented contributor.  Each PDF for Sketchbook 3 will also include a card designed by the amazing Jennifer McGuire based on the daily sketch.

The class will also include a private message board for questions and sharing ideas on the Studio Calico website (http://tinyurl.com/4pdmyud). Visit Kelly's blog (http://www.kellypurkey.typepad.com) for more information and to see the full list of contributors.