Early Bird

I was excited to get my hands on an Early Bird Crafting Kit. "This Girl Loves to Sing" was created prior to the scrapbook store receiving the Ready Set Chip. I would have loved to have had the little chipboard music notes for this layout, but instead made use of a Magistical Memories note, left in raw color, but coated with sparkle mod podge and a touch of red Stickles.

The fun idea in this layout was creating "cherry" embellishments with red buttons and red floss. Hot tip - use a small hole punch to create a hole under the location of a button, and under the location where the cut out leaves will be adhered. I simply guided the floss through with my fingers, and used magic tape to secure the floss to the backside of the layout. Super quick!

"Taste Tester" is a Christmas layout created with Early Bird. The greens and reds in the collection, plus all the fun shapes and such with a baking them, make Early Bird great for scrapping family recipes, and family time in the kitchen.


I wanted to share another example of how cardstock stickers can be used as a part of the journaling block. The first layout I created using this technique, "Long-Time Friends", was picked up by Creating Keepsakes for October. The journaling in "Taste Tester" is a bit different in style, but it is the same concept. It is an interesting way of journaling "outside the box".


To cover the Magistical Memories chipboard tree, below, I used paper cut from the Crafting Kit packaging. Again, be sure to utilize the retail info sheet and take advantage of the mini print versions of papers within the kit.


Before you leave today, I want to direct you to my good friend, Lisa Fadulto's blog - where she is hosting an awesome giveaway. Please be sure to come back and see other fun Cosmo Cricket projects I have shared. I hope you will be inspired to play with your own stash of Cosmo!

Snorkel

Snorkel is a fun collection to use for a variety of summer projects - from pool party invitations to layouts - this could be my very favorite Cosmo Cricket collection of all time. I love bright colors!


To create the title I used a die-cut from the collection, American Crafts Thickers coated with Stickles, and a few "water action" shapes from Snorkel Ready Set Chip. I coated the shapes with sparkle mod podge, although it is hard to see it in the photo. I will point out that the journal card is from Early Bird, again, one more example of how collections often coordinate with one another for vast possibilities.

BTW, for fun on this layout I used a pencil eraser, dabbed in VersaMark ink, to dot the background cardstock. I sprinkled clear UTEE on top and heat set -for a fun look of water droplets on the page.


"Summer '03", a 6x6 mini album was very fast to put together, and is perfect for all those summer 4x6 photos that you love, but don't necessarily want to devote a layout to.

Here are samples of some of the inside pages. This album can be created in its entirety in two hours!





On July 7 I will be doing a version of the same album for the Middleton Public Library at 6:30 p.m. The mini album class is free,and is only one hour! The only thing different between this album and the one above is the use of Snorkel chipboard shapes in my personal album. We did not have a budget to use Ready Set Chip shapes in a class of 20. In place of the whale I used a Magistical Memories Seahorse - with a fun painting technique that I will be teaching as well. (If you sign up don't wear Sunday's best!) I also designed my own title block in Photoshop that I could step out and punch twenty times.

As of this posting there were two spots remaining. Call now for a deal - an 8 page album in an hour for zero the cost!

Girl Friday

Girl Friday is a versatile line. It is beautiful to use with sweet photos of our daughter blowing bubbles in her Easter dress.




Girl Friday also lends itself to a fun layout - this one about me (and this insane passion of mine to create daily - every day!)



Cosmo's retail strip inspired this grouping of "embellishments" on my page. I love the shape of their logo and cut it out. I then began looking through my garbage, etc. to see what other labels I might glean.


Finally, I just had fun in Photoshop with this photo - lovin' the wild look with a Magistical Memories tiara.

My Last Pub with Memory Makers

I was so bummed to learn that Memory Makers would cease publication. For the past four years I have enjoyed working with Patty, Beth and a number of the wonderful editors at the magazine.

Seeing my last traditional layout in the Scrapbooking Idea Gallery 2009 (which has been on newstands for more than a month now) was a bittersweet moment.

Originally created as a Hall of Fame entry - I had a eureka moment spotting Sculpey Clay in my stash. I molded a couple of footholds, used a sharp tool to make a hole, and baked the pieces. I then fastened them to the layout with a screw brad. Each foothold appears to be holding up a photo - this layout was a blast to create!

Hello Sunshine

A few more layouts using Hello Sunshine. Others were posted further down below in the blog posts. (Look for Beautiful Girl and my very first post in this blog, Little Miss Sunshine) The photos in Grow are simply precious, and I wanted to really "do it up" when it came to creating a layout. I was thrilled that it won the Cosmo contest at Scrap4Life some time ago. Here are close ups of some details. I love using Cosmo's blackboard!



In "Rain, Rain Go Away" I love the black paper with green dots raining down, or at least that is the vision I had. We had SO MUCH rain that spring - flooding was happening everywhere. Fortunately our home is situated on a hill, so we can enjoy the rainfall without worry.

As you may notice, papers included are also from the Get Happy line. I really love both of these bright Cosmo Cricket lines.

Get Happy

This is one of my all time favorite layouts. I love the photo of our children interacting while walking the RR tracks. Magistical Memories chipboard was utlized with the Get Happy line by Cosmo.





In this photo Kyle was reading another book on military history, while waiting for the rest of us to finish up in the library. Quick designer tip: rather than matte a photo to set it off the page, use a black sharpie and tightly trace around the outside edges.

Mix & Match Cosmo Collections

This layout is dedicated to a man I met years ago while working at the church. He and I initiated a number of new programs, and an "out of the box" worship service together. He's like a dad to me. He's had some tests done recently and I worry about his health. On Monday nights for the past 4 yrs he and his wife meet with us for Bible study. On Father's Day we were blessed to have them join us at the coffeehouse after church. I had just received a Cosmo Early Girl crafting kit - and was tickled to see that Marv's shirt matched one of the papers. (LOL)

"This Marvelous Man" actually has Cosmo papers from the Christmas Be Good, Wanted and Early Bird lines. How cool is that? Cosmo Cricket continually produces new lines that coordinate with the "old". What a great way to use small amounts left from a previous favorite line!

I love Marv's treasured, and worn, straw hat. I incorporated jute into the layout, which also goes well with the Wanted paper used. (Our friends favorite respite is a place called "The Ranch" - using a western paper design shares a bit of who Marv is.)

The larger letters in the title were created using a Cosmo die-cut letter sheet, that happened to be missing the M-A-N that I needed. I used it as a stencil, tracing with pencil, and cut out letters with a craft knife. Red brads add a little pop to this layout. The red, in small amounts, really makes a difference.


I found a lapel in my stash that was perfect to use - no doubt mailed to the church as a promo. The back was filed off so I could use it on the page. I just happened to find a piece of leather in my "misc. fiber" drawer, and wove it around the jute. I love finding little details in my stash drawers!

Do you have an elderly friend dear in your life? Marv's recent health problems really made me consider how much he will be missed when God takes him from this earth. I wanted to be sure I had a page dedicated to the man he is, and how much he means to me.

If you haven't found time to create a page like this about someone you love, please make it a priority. Often we never realize how much we miss a person until they are gone.

Layout Gallery Past

Because the Cosmo DT call has such a short open period, instead of posting a project a day with details and notes (you can find all of these on my other blog in the archives, with details and how tos) - I am going to simply showcase some of my favorite Cosmo Cricket projects. In the near future I hope to tag them by collection used or theme, should that help you find what you're looking for.

I love this sweet photo of my friend and a new lab puppy.


This layout was created for a journaling contest some time ago at Scrap4Life and won. It was created shortly after the new year, and was a great reflective piece.

Homegrown Kits Winter Page Ideas

A while back I had a GDT spot for Homegrown Scrapbooking kits, in addition to Cosmo Cricket I also had to incorporate other products from the kit, and ended up with these wonderful pages.

Be Mine


You Are My Everything

Chemistry Mini

Some of you may recognize the album used above as Cosmo Cricket's blackboard Abby album. Besides being really cute, the reason I bought it is obvious. (LOL) I showed Abby the packaging and said, "Hey, this album has the same name as yours! What do you think, should I scrap about all the reasons we love you?" She replied in a mature six year old voice, "since it is MY album I want it to be about all the things I love...like horses, strawberries, and the number 5..." (don't ask about that last one - it was one of those explanations for which I just shrugged) (LOL) I thought, well okay, it's good to get her input and so be it. I even found a "lovesick" rub-on and chopped off the "ick" portion. (Perhaps it could be used on a page about Kyle's feelings towards girls right now.) ;-)


To obtain an extra "b" in the blackboard letters I simply utilized a "q" turned over. I used little rub-ons first, and then topped the letters with Diamond Glaze. The glossy, black letters just POP off the Chemistry paper collection. Another favorite product to use with bright colors on black backgrounds is black tulle. The phoof is nice, too.

Chemistry Treat Box

This cute little box starts with an Accu-Cut die as well. To begin I opend up the box flat and painted the side flaps with brown. To find out more tips check out the Treat Boxes thread in the blog post listing.

Fleuriste

A year ago April I received some of the beautiful Fleuriste line as a DT member for the Scrapbook Playground. It was my introduction to Cosmo Cricket Blackboard shapes. There are so many mediums one could use on blackboard, one of which is Lumeire paints - lovin' the shimmer on the floral border in the layout below.

Storytime

I created this layout quite some time ago, taken at the end of summer. Abby was so young back then - I remember how amazed she was at the size of a sunflower.

The flower began with a piece of brown felt, in which I painted a bit of green. Stitches were added to create texture in an attempt to simulate the center of a sunflower. Does it work for you? Imagination my friends!(LOL)


When our daughter was a toddler she often had a hard time taking her afternoon nap. She would twist, giggle, and constantly complain that she wasn't tired. Letting her know that she had to take a nap, we usually received a pouty face in return. Shortly after - sound asleep. (LOL)

Thank goodness our children have us parents around to remind them of what they need, and to assure them we have their best interests at heart.

Our Sunshine and Beautiful Girl!

ACOT challenged members to journal about a bittersweet subject this month. I came across this old photo of Abby when she was about 7 months old. Gosh, I sure had fun dressing her up in cute things!! The colors in the photo screamed Cosmo Cricket "Hello Sunshine!" - it was the perfect collection to use.

I love the Cosmo Cricket die-cut shapes - especially the flowers that you can add dimensional adhesive to for a very cool effect.


I used a Ranger white InkEssentials pen to simply journal directly on the cardstock along the one side. A bit of a trip down memory lane to think back on favorite baby outfits. Nowadays I have very little to say about what Abby wears - she has developed a mind of her own with definite likes and dislikes. I just wished she didn't change her mind so much! (LOL)


Do you have memory of a favorite outfit that you dressed your child in? Or how about one that you yourself wore as a child? I hope you are inspired to scrap about it!

Mini with How To Instructions!

Make Your Own Snippets of Us

Cosmo Cricket makes some very cool Blackboard mini albums, and when I landed my eyes on one at my LSS I had to get one and play with it. The style I found is called “Ruby’s Album”, and I bought some blackboard letters to go along with. I paired the black album with my collection of Cosmo’s “Get Happy” collection as I love nothing better than bright colors on black.

Gather These Supplies
Cosmo Cricket Ruby’s Album
Cosmo Cricket Get Happy Cardstock and Rub ons
Cosmo Cricket Retro Mix Blackboard letters
Cloud 9 Sentiments Stamps (circle journaling blocks)
Staz On ink - Teal Blue and Black Cherry
Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink - black
Misc. buttons to coordinate
Glitter pens, favorite journaling pen, colored pencils, ribbon

Starting Off With These Time Savers:
1. Scan in one page of the blackboard album, reduce size slightly, print image and cut out to create a shape template. Using the template will allow you to cut your patterned cardstock at the same approximate curve radius as that of the blackboard album.

2. Use a white sheet of cardstock, 2 journaling stamps and 2 coordinating colors of ink – stamp out all journal blocks at one time, cutting out and inking all edges. (I used the Coluzzle small circle template to trim out Cloud 9 Sentiments journaling stamps.) I allowed for three journaling blocks (circles) per page to give balance, and offer plenty of room to write snippets.

3. Print photos to size and trim out, or select 2-3 photos per page that are already in your photo collection, and crop. The inside pages use primarily 3x4 and 2x3 photos, all distressed with black ink along the edges.

With all of these elements now ready to go, the SNIPPETS album can be assembled in less than two hours – as long as you keep embellishments simple. I used rub-ons and buttons – they are fun, the buttons are bright and it was quick to grab them from their storage container. I was tempted to doodle more on the pages, but resisted to a few dash marks around the curves using a white colored pencil. When using intense colors and patterns less is often more.

Each page of this album was designed to allow the contrast of the blackboard album to make an impact with the bright papers. This image shows you the clean lines prior to finishing the album with photos and journaling. If you are “all about clean lines”, by all means make this idea your own and position your photos straight, journal blocks contained within the color blocks, etc.


For the inner strips cardstock was cut to 2” width, and that strip cut into two 6” pieces. The template was used to hand-cut the curved end using a micro-tip scissors. Finished height is 5 5/8” – measuring from the two furthest points.








For the outside portion, patterned cardstock was cut to a 3½” width, then cut to 6” lengths, and again using the template to cut along the curved edge, creating the same height.

For the cover I printed “Snippets” onto a 3x4 journaling card using my favorite “stamped” and distressed font – Social Animal. If you've read my blog tips previously, remember to use two of the smaller cards together for a 4x6 piece of cardstock to feed through your printer, which will prevent frustration with jamming on smaller pieces. Once printed, cut the journaling card to size. I chose to cut around the bracket shape, and am saving the other portion to use as a frame on another project. I used letter brads from my stash and added subtle color to the blackboard letters with colored pencil, which allows the black to pop off the red background. Buttons follow along the curve for a fun accent.


Have lots of snippets? That's okay. Don't forget you can always compile multiple blackboard albums together. I assure you it will be a fun family album to look through time and time again. And even more fun if you create a "Snippets" album every 5 years or so!