A Member Who Inspires Us...

I am constantly amazed at the talent we have at AC Bailey Designs. We really have some creative people here! This member spotlight is certainly no exception. Maggie (mlamarredesigns) is one lady who has it together. She seems to know a little about everything! I am constantly in awe at the the projects she posts and the tips and ispiration she gives the rest of us. So, let's get to know her better!

Tell us a little about you.

I am a mother of a 15 year old going on 30 that keeps me on my toes.

How long have you been scrapping?

I've been scrapping for 4 years now.

What got you started?

I got started when I was looking for tutorials for creating signatures for paintshoppro, then discovered Scrapbookbytes a digital site, then I evolve from them, soaking every info like sponge.

You have traveled extensively. Tell us about that. As of a year ago I use to travel extensively unfortunately I've been staying close to home lately.

How often do you scrap the trips you take?

I selectively pick the pictures that evoke a certain memory that I want to capture that story and relive it again and again.The rest of the pic goes into an album with caption of places, dates etc.

How do you think your travels have affected the way you scrap?

Being a scrapper has change my views on how I see things.. Now I see endless possibilities, where a sign can become the title, I pay more attention to the details now, and seek specific items with a liberated eye.

What is your all time favorite scrapping supply/tool?

Definitely F.R.E.D, it allows me to place elements on a page before gluing it down, I am able to take the metal part w/the lo to the store w/me to look for items, otherwise I would not have been able to do.

You have such wonderful ideas. Where do you find your inspiration for your projects?

I am inspired by many things: I draw inspirations on seeing the diff colour combos of flowers that are put together at a garden. The theme parks are great, furniture, commercial buildings are really great as well for colour combos. Altered projects are every day items we use I think of how I can repurpose this item for another use. Children clothing are another great source of inspirations. Vogue and style magazines are the top mags I peruse regularly for inspiration.

Some Creative Imaginations deliciousness

After working on one of the exclusive project kits for ACBailey I was very happy I had some of the Creative Imaginations Miss Elle collection left over. The bright colors are so fun and I knew they would go so well with this cute picture of my neices. I also used a White Unibal signo pen and the circle Bazzill In Stitchz template and made some circles for something extra. Have you tried these templates? Everytime I thing my layout needs a little somethin' I reach for one of my templates and it's complete. Don't be intimidated by them if your not a sewer. I despise sewing but these kits make it too easy not to be a sewer..hmmm, I'm meaning a person who sews, not a stinky place to dump the stinkies....;)

Basic Grey Offbeat

I love, love, love this line from Basic Grey. The color combo's are totally different and fresh. The patterns are ones that make it easy to cut and use too. And check out the adorable Element Stickers, these are cardstock weight and so fun to use!



This first layout I did using the 6x6 paper pad. As you can see I used 3 different sheets and layered them. I also added some of the element stickers for embellishments and a title block.



This next layout uses some of the papers in the paper set, a few more of the element stickers and the matching alphabet stickers.

The Great Pumpkin Contest!!!

We thought it would be fun to shake things up a bit and have a contest for altered projects for the fall holiday season. So rule #1 - no layouts!!

This contest will be divided into 2 rounds:
Trick or Treat - Oct 15 - Oct 31 -
Dress your Table - Nov 1 - Nov 16
*Please check the threads for the specific requirements on each round.*

Make and Takes: The DT will also be sharing some of their ideas with you for each round, including instructions. So stay tuned, they are going to be awesome!!

Prizes - There will be 3 prizes awarded in this contest: One will be awarded for each round to the DT favorite.There will also be a drawing at the end of the contest, and for each project you complete, you will get an entry into the drawing!

Be sure to check out the forum for all the details and to play along!!

New Bazzill Just the Edge strips

If you are like me, a simple thing can add a lot to a layout or card. This one of the things that I love about the Bazzill Just the Edge cardstock strips. The original ones were great, but I LOVE the new shape strips with things such as hearts, butterflies, flowers, waves, etc. They come in lots of different colors, too. SO FUN!

Here is a layout I made using the Bazzill JTE swirly strip and the October Afternoon Detours collection paper and rubber charms and the OA Dilly Dally rub-ons. These rub-ons, by the way, are smooth as butter- just as they say on the packaging!



Have a wonderful day!
Becky

The Great Pumpkin Search

Make sure you join us for the Great Pumkin Search online shop hop! We will have a great contest going on in the forum and you can save 10% off your purchase during the whole month! Visit the forum more details!
Click below to sign up!

Coming soon...

Did you know that there's a new Digital Scrapbook Memories CD coming to the store?? It's called "Family Ties" and it's loaded with goodies! It's very versatile...it has categories like "teen" with funky colors and fun elements like potty people symbols...gotta love those!! And other categories like "wedding" and "heritage" have more classic and elegant elements for those special occasions. I have to admit...I was immediately drawn to the bright and playful look of the "teen" category. Here's a layout that I created using papers and elements from "teen:"

And they've also included some quickpages on this cd! Quickpages can be so handy when you need to create a layout in a hurry. You can use them as they are or you can add more elements to make them a little more personal. I used a quickpage for this layout...don't laugh at my baby picture!! {hehe!!}

I added flowers and buttons and the "remember" element to dress it up a bit but it was super cute without even adding a thing. I was resistant to quickpages when I first started digital scrapbooking, somehow it felt like cheating to me, but I have become a fan! You really can make them your own and they are wonderful for things like quick gift albums...not that I would ever use quickpages for gift albums that I make.{wink, wink!!} (shhh...don't tell my sister that I used quickpages to make a mini-album for her birthday...hehe!!)
So there's a little peek into the "Family Ties" cd that will be arriving soon. (I have to admit...every time I type "Family Ties," I hear the theme song and I have the urge to say, "Sit, Ubu, Sit...good dog. ) LOL!! (Forgive me for that 80's moment.) Thanks for stopping by!! Have a great day!!

~Phoebe

How to create journaling spots in MS Word

We've all seen (and probably own) quite a few of those super cute stamps that create journaling spots and lines. They are a great time-saver and look trendy... but what are you to do if you need more lines? Or what if you really need it to be smaller overall so it fits in with your design?

Easy! Make your own on your computer!

Here's all you need to do: (These steps are for MS Word, but I'm sure you can do the same thing in just about any word processing program out there)

1. Open a new document and decide what shape you'd like to be the "frame" of your journaling spot. For this example I'm going to choose brackets. Simply type the open and closed brackets side by side (like this { }).

2. Now you're going to increase the size to what you would like. Click and highlight the brackets, and change the font size. You can go as large as you like, simply click in the window which shows the number to type in a higher number. I chose a font size of 150 for mine.

3. Next, decide how much space you'd like within the frame. I clicked in between the brackets and hit the space bar about five times to get the width I wanted.

4. The final step is too add the lines. Open your program's drawing tool bar (go to "View", "Toolbars", and be sure the "Drawing" tool bar has a check mark next to it). From that toolbar select the "line" tool (it looks like a diagonal line), and little cross-hairs will appear. Draw your lines by clicking within your frame and dragging the line until it's the length you like. Repeat doing that until you have as many lines as you wish.

Then print, cut out, and you're done! (Don't forget you can change the font colors if you like too!)

You can also create journaling spots by using any of the other shapes on the "Drawing" tool bar (such as a square, circle, heart, or arrow) and come up with some really cute options! After you draw your shape, you can double click on the outline of it to change the style and thickness. Then repeat the steps above for adding the lines.

Here's an example of the few I put together in a snap! For a clearer image and even the ability to print these for your use, just click here! :)

I hope you enjoy this little trick for the next time you need just the right journaling spot. If you have any questions on this, please don't hesitate to pop on over to our community forum and say hello! Have a wonderful October!

All the best,

Jess

October Design Team Challenge

Can you believe it's October already??? Didn't the summer just get started?? And now here I am in a sweater with the fireplace on, looking out my window at the red and orange leaves glowing in the overcast day, and hearing that our high temp for tomorrow night is supposed to be 38 degrees. brrr. I guess fall really is here. Anyway...I know not everyone is a big fan of Halloween so for this challenge you don't have to do a Halloween page and I know everyone's been busy so I want to keep it pretty simple. Use at least two photos on your layout and choose at least two of the colors from the swatch below and use them on your layout:

That's pretty simple, right?? So complete your layout and upload it to the gallery and post a link to your layout in the October DT Challenge thread on the forum and you'll be entered into a drawing for a RAK. Want to get another chance to win?? As a bonus, use any Tim Burton movie as inspiration for your layout, and you'll be entered a second time! Tim Burton uses lots of swirls and black and white in his his movies. He loves to have a very grey feel with pops of color. Here are some pictures from his work that I love:

He always has a bit of sweetness thrown in with the gothic, darkness of his movies. Love his artistry. So there it is...use at least two pictures and two colors from the swatch and for a bonus...use something Tim Burton inspired (like swirls, black and whites with pops of color, etc) on your page. Don't forget to link your layout in the thread by Oct. 31st. I can't wait to see what everyone creates!! I'll be posting my layout soon!! Have fun with it!!