Please Welcome Our New Design Team Members!!

We had a wonderful response to our design team call, and decisions were definitely hard to make! We really wish we could have picked each and every applicant. But alas we could only pick a select few. So please help me welcome our newest team members...

Design Team:
April
Leah
Elisabeth

Consultant Design Team:
Connie
Dee
Emma

Marketing Director:
Kathy

Business Advisors:
Tam Harper
Shiela Richards

Congrats Ladies, and welcome to the team!!

Some October Afternoon Deliciousness

I absolutely LOVE this paper!! The country feel of The Daydream collection it went great with some of the fun In Stitchz templates available in the store too! This first layout I actually used the coordinating journaling cards for the background and used the September sketch by the ever so talented Lisa for inspiration!.

The next is a 12x12 acrylic frame by Clearscraps. You can display your completed layouts or do what I've done here and alter the outside to go along with the layout. I used my crop-a-dile to punch holes, then I put brads through them to accent the layout. Oh and you like that title? I used my electronic cutter to cut out princess using the ACB exclusive dingbat font ACB scrappin words.


Last I got to play with a Making Memories chipboard letter as well. I used scrap pieces of paper to cover the chipboard. I also just punched a circle from one of the patterns and then my flower accent is from one of the patterened papers as well. Then I just cut up some Prima "Say it in Crystals" and viola, a fun and easy home decor item. It would also make a great make and take or even a class kit.

Altered Letters-Create words

Don't you just LOVE this! I had a great time using leftover materials and experimenting with some new stuff like the CI metal brad flowers and the Ranger crackle gloss. For just $2 a letter this is a nice thing to make for decorating your scrap rooms, children rooms, or as a gift, I am thinking these would make awesome baby shower presents, spell the new arrival's name out or do ABC 123!
My teen and her friends love them. They want to all alter their favorite letters and add magnets to the back so they stick to the school lockers! How fun that will be? Speaking of lockers...are you planning on joining us for the Weekend Cram Session? I cannot wait to see who the Valedictorian will be! We have so much fun here at AC Bailey, don't you think??

Announcing AC Bailey's "Weekend Cram Session"!

Are you ready for some fun this weekend?

Want to come hang out with the friendliest group of scrappers on the Web?

Do you have that tiny urge to go back to school this time of year too?

But most importantly are you ready to get your scrap on?!

Starting this Friday 9/19, the Design Team at AC Bailey will be hosting a ton of fun scrapbooking challenges based on getting ready for a new "scrappy" school year, and we want you to be there! There will be layout challenges, ways to get to know each other better, forum games, and more! Come play with us for your chance to become the AC Bailey Valedictorian and win the grand prize! There's an opportunity to win whether you have just an hour to spare or can scrap with us all weekend, so stop by!

Be sure to check the community forum for more details starting tomorrow. All challenges will be posted by late Friday evening, and we'll be in and out all weekend to chat with you and play too! So take some time for yourself and get ready to party! (Er... Study!) :)

See you there!

A fun little mini album!!

This was a fun album to make, and it was easy. I really wanted to do an album about a few of my favorite things, and I wanted to document why I loved them. It was a great trip down memory lane, and I realized that a lot of the things that mean the most to me, have been passed down from my grandmother. I started with a great little album by October Afternoon, which unfortunately is no longer available, and two paper sets from OA, Daydream and Detours. I love that the sets have matching journaling cards, and I used them for most of my jounaling - great time saver!!! Also, both paper sets coordinate well enough with each other that you can use them interchanginbly. I accented everything with some AC Halstead Felt Embellishments, Just the Edge Bazzill and some rubons.

My Mind's Eye My Sunshine

Hello again! It's been a rainy week here in west Texas where I live, so how about a little Sunshine? "My Sunshine" from My Mind's Eye, that is! I love this cute paper set and had fun creating these projects with it. You can find it at the AC Bailey store.

The first of the projects I'll share with you is an altered chipboard flower by Making Memories. I simply made a template of one of the petals by tracing around the flower, then cut out petals of different patterned papers, inked the edges and glued them to the flower. The brown paper strips are from the product label at the end of the patterned paper sheet (way to scrap my stash, huh?)which I curled around a pencil, then added buttons around the center and some ribbon to the back and voila!!



This layout is one of my current favorites. I love this picture of my baby girl, and the blues in the My Sunshine set compliment it so well. I cut both the paislees and little flowers from one of the patterned paper sheets and folded the ribbon accordion style and glued it down real well. The silly stuff kept wanting to come undone! I like the end result, though.




Make sure and stop by the AC Bailey store for a little Sunshine and check out some of the other great new products that are arriving. Have a fabulous day!

Thanks,
Becky

September Card Sketch

Good morning! We hope that you are having a wonderful day and that you have been enjoying out blog. It's been a fun thing for us to put together.

For today I have another sketch for you. Our ever-so-talented Lisa posted a layout sketch for you the other day and now it's my turn- for a card sketch this time. This is for a square card, but you can switch it up and move things around as you like. Here is the sketch and my card to go with it.

Acrylic + October Afternoon = FUN!!!

OK everyone... this was my very first attempt at an acrylic album.  I've always loved the look of them, but have been too scared to try one.  I sat down to work on my DT projects, and in front of me sat the cute little stamp album and a whole bunch of yummy OA stuff.  I went to my computer and started to "research" stuff.. you know me! :)  What glues to use, what other embellies work well in an acrylic album etc.  I found that "bling", rub-ons, double-sided papers, flowers (things that would add texture), slick writers and stazon (which I didn't have much luck with) were among the top suggestions.  So, I dove in.. and OOOHHH MYYY... how FUN is THIS??!!!  Seriously, I had sooo much fun with it.  Planning it out, figuring what will show through the next page and what won't.  Yes, there is a bit more planning involved with an acrylic album, but I found that if you ust start cutting things out.. "hold" them into place first.. peek on the other side to make sure you won't stick it down to see the back of your photo or something through to the other side, then go for it!  And... remember to leave some white space, to allow that cool acrylic see-thru look!

So, don't be shy, don't be scared, just RUN to the store and pick up one of the many cute little acrylic albums and start playing!  I know so much more now than I did before I started this one and am excited to see what I can do with the NEXT.  The possibilities are endless!

Here are a few photos of the album.  To view the full album, all inside pages and complete supply list, visit the AC Bailey Gallery.

Thanks for looking!

~Amanda

"Offbeat" acrylic album

When I opened my box of goodies and saw those yummy Basic Grey "Offbeat" papers, I knew they would be perfect for my acrylic album! And they made me want to dive in immediately! Love it when you get papers or supplies like that! And what acrylic album would be complete without some fabulous sparkle, right? I used some Prima crystals and three different colors of Stickles for my bling. And when I first saw the adorable jar of itty bitty Primas, I thought it was cute but I really thought they would be too small for me to work with. Boy, was I wrong!! I loved playing with those little pretties!! I ended up using them on almost every page of my album. Love 'em!

I included details and a complete supply list in my description in the gallery. I also uploaed a fun little project with a chipboard flower and a couple new digital layouts to the gallery as well if you'd like to check them out. And don't forget about our DT call!! Wouldn't you love to get fabulous goodies like the Scrapworks acrylic album and yummy Basic Grey Offbeat papers to play with? And Erica and the design team girls are such a sweet and fun bunch...we'd love to have you join us!! Oops...got a little off the subject there...hehe!!

Here's one of my new digital layouts made with the fun Digital Scrapbook Memories CD, "In the Mood."

There you have it...a few of my new projects for this month. Thanks for stopping by!! Have a great day!!

~Phoebe

September Sketch

Ever feel like you have too many pictures to squeeze onto a one page layout? I know I feel like that all the time, but since I don't like to do 2 pagers, I find a way to make it work. Either I pick the best 2 or 3 pictures or I crop them down. I created this sketch to accommodate up to 9 2x3 pictures, and there is still a little white space so your eyes can rest.

Tip: Use your photo editing software to change the size of the pics, and move them all to an 8x10 document. Then you can either send them to an online printer, or print them at home. If you arrange them in the order you want them, you won't have to cut each picture either.



Make sure you upload your layouts to the gallery and link them back to the challenge thread!

Here is my layout. I used the October Afternoon papers, rubons and a journaling tag.

Chipboard Bracket Mobile

Let's take a journey off the page today with a really fun and unique project! This mobile is a cinch to make, and can be customized in so many ways... just wait until your creative juices start flowing!

Here's what you'll need:

Making Memories chipboard brackets... found in the store

Twine or string

A strong hole punch (such as the fantabulous Crop-a-Dile)

Chipboard or metal shapes to hang (I used the Jenni Bowlin Butterflies from the July KOTM), just make sure they have a little bit of weight to them.

And of course paint, paper, bling, etc to decorate your masterpiece. I used Pink Paislee's Spring Fling.

To create the top of the mobile follow these steps:

1. First alter the brackets by painting or covering in paper if you wish.
2. Using the hole punch, punch one hole in the middle top of each bracket... this is to help you secure the two pieces together.
3. Thread the string or twine through one of the holes, and gently push the two brackets together at their "inside" edge (gently so as not to bend the chipboard - they will hold together).
4. Now you'll permanently secure the two pieces together by wrapping each end of the string or twine up and around the other piece, and through the other hole. You'll do this twice in order to "wrap" all four sides. The picture below shows a close up of how it should look. Don't worry about understanding it before you try, once you play with this step you'll get a feeling of what you need to do in order to keep the two pieces together. :) Tie the remaining long ends of the twine together at the top for the mobile to hang from.
5. As the final step you'll attach the butterflies, tags, quotes, photos of your family, whatever you wish. The sky is the limit! To do so, simply use the hole punch to create a hole in the end of each bracket, a hole in what you will hang, and secure one to the other with twine by tying knots. Think about decorating the string too with beads like I did below.

And there you have it! This one is currently hanging on my sun porch and is so much fun to watch sway in the breeze. It's a little reminder of Summer as the longer and warmer days here in the Midwest begin to fade away.

Should you have any questions on this or any projects we post on the AC Bailey Blog, you are always more than welcome to ask away in the comments section here, or come on over to our community forum where we are always busy chatting away about scrapping and life in general. We'd love for you to come say hi!

Have a wonderful month dear friends!

All the best, Jess

Head of the Class Contest!!

Would you like a chance to be the Head of the Class at AC Bailey? Well this is the contest for you!! This contest will be divided into 2 Semesters.

*The 1st Semester starts September 1st.*

Below is a layout from each of our Design Team members. Please study them carefully before you complete your homework assignment.

Homework - create a layout based on one of our layouts, or create a layout that combines several elements from different designers. Upload your layout to the gallery and link it here, also be sure to tell us who/what you chose to scraplift. And you can create as many layouts as you like. Due Date will be Sept 15th 9am EST.

Each DT Member will pick a favorite and a favorite layout from that person's gallery for the 2nd Semester Homework Assignment. The names will go into a drawing for a prize from Erica.

*Second Semester starts on Sept 17th.*

Homework - create a layout based on one of the layouts picked by the DT, or create a layout that combines several elements from different designers. Upload your layout to the gallery and link it to the 2nd semester thread, also be sure to tell us who/what you chose to scraplift. And you can create as many layouts as you like. Due Date will be Sept 30th 9am EST.

Each DT Member will again pick a favorite and the names will be placed in a drawing for a prize from Erica.

So check in here to see the layouts you can lift for the first semester!!

Free Shipping Reminder and September Kit of the Month!!

This month's kit features Kaisercraft and Daisy D's papers for a beautiful fall colored kit. Available online Sept. 1st. Look how pretty these fall colors are! It really makes me want to see the leaves start changing and the pumpkins come out. Also, Erica is adding lots of new CHA goodies just in time for the free shipping special today!