Have you scrapped your Fourth of July memories yet? On Saturday, I created this hybrid page to document a lovely dinner and trip to the fireworks with Art Director Christy Miller.

(I apologize for the slightly crooked scan of this page.)

I used the I Am Free kit by Emily Powers, which is chock full of digital elements that have a great textured look. I especially enjoyed using the paint and torn kraft paper elements, as those are often staples on paper layouts I create.

Lately, I've been loving the time-saving nature of hybrid layouts. For this page, I mounted my 10x10 digital page on notebook patterned paper from KI Memories. I added staples (because I like the look of staples but also because I ran out of my Tombow adhesive while scrapping this page). Then, I added the white glitter chipboard letters and accents from American Crafts.

Final step: Adding the date stamp in the upper, right corner, which is quickly becoming a constant on my pages. After admiring Kal Barteski's use of the date stamp, I've become quite fond of the smudgy, imperfect look it leaves on my pages. (I also appreciate her bulletproof postive attitude. What a great way to create!)

Have a great Monday!

—Katie

(And if you've created any Fourth of July layouts, share them with us here.)

I haven' been scrapbooking as much as Katie, GinaMarie and Christy this summer, but I'm loving two new-to-me scrapbooking essentials. These are two of my very favorite discoveries this summer ...

I'm a huge fan of anything from Anna Griffin, so I'm really LOVING my Anna Griffin Dorothy tote bag. It's got a weatherproof, almost oilcloth surface, and it's unbelievably roomy, with two huge fabric-lined sections with a padded divider, a small zippered section, 2 pen holders, a phone pocket, adjustable straps, a gold wax sealing-typed medallion... Swoon. And, best of all, it's in my favorite damask pattern (I'm all about black and white accessories!). It's pretty and practical, as it can hold 12x12 paper, a laptop, lots of file folders, clothes ... I used this as my carry-on airline bag to GASC in Arlington, Texas, and it held SO much, especially on the way back when it was filled to the brim with book receipts from our Memory Makers booth. If you're at CHA, you'll see this little beauty on my shoulder at all times.


One of my latest discoveries is Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens. I'm a bit of a pen snob—always have been—and this one just feels right in my hand. It's shaped ergonomically for fatigue-free writing, and it has a dry-safe feature so that if I leave the cap off for a few days, the ink won't dry out. Plus, it's acid-free. And, it just g-l-i-d-e-s over paper. It's my new favorite for taking notes and journaling.


And, even though it's not scrapbooking related, I'm loving Sonic limeades. There's something about a large limeade complete with a real quarter-lime and lots of crushed ice that just says "summer" to me. I'm trying to make the switch to the diet limeade, but it's not quite the same. I see a Sonic drive-thru run in my weekend, and maybe I'll bring it home and actually spend a little time sipping and scrapping.

What are you loving this summer? Hope your weekend is filled with lots of it!

Best,
Beth

Last week Katie posted a creative prompt titled "I Am..."

I really had no idea how to finish that sentence because I feel like I am so many things at this point in my life. I decided to design a hybrid layout that allowed plenty of journaling space to detail my life as it is right this moment.

I LOVE this digital kit (Tutti Frutti) by Emily Powers and Paislee Press. Isn't it so cute!?! The colors and patterns are wonderful and the embellishments can be used in so many ways. After I designed the layout I printed it on our Epson R1900 for a gorgeous print, then mounted it to orange cardstock then a piece of 12x12 blue cardstock. Using my new scallop shears (that I absolutely love) I cut around the blue cardstock to get a clean, scalloped edge. I added ribbon, bling, and KI softies, button findings and felt embellishments to add a little dimension to the page.

I created this 10x10 layout to use on a hybrid scrapbook page. After printing, I plan to mount it on patterned paper or cardstock and add a few embellishments to create texture and depth.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow I'll post the finished page and supply list.

Happy Monday!

Katie

Hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July!
Create something. Inspire everyone.
GinaMarie

supplies:
Adhesives (Tombow, U-GLU) • Board Book (Cloud 9 Designs) • Brads (Bazzill, American Crafts) • Epoxy sticker, flower, journaling spot, patterned paper, ribbon, sanding block, tag (Making Memories) • Felt letters (American Crafts) • Heart (KI Memories) • Ink (Clearsnap, Tsukineko) • Linen pocket (Li'l Davis Designs) • Pen (EK Success) • Stitching stamp (Autumn Leaves)

I will admit that when digital scrapbooking became an option, I was less than impressed with the digital projects out there. I thought that there was no way to get a layout that compared to the look and feel of paper scrapping.

And then I found several designers whose work I fell in love with and who never disappointment me with their selection of digital products. Once I started getting into a groove, digital scrapbooking became fun and a much faster way to get my photos and layouts in albums with less mess. I guess I should mention it makes my piggy bank happy too :)
 
I still love getting out all my supplies and painting, ripping paper and creating layouts with real texture (I still do this often), but hybrid scrapping is splitting equal time with paper scrapping these days.
 
I took some pictures last weekend and created a layout with one of the photos. I used Little Dreamer Designs Summer Time digital kit to create a 10"x10" layout. After designing the layout on the computer, I printed it using our Epson R1900 Photo printer and mounted it to a blue piece of cardstock that coordinated with the layout.



Here are the areas that I added embellishments:
• The rays of the sun are ribbon.
• I added buttons to frame the smaller photo.
• There is bling on the small flowers and on the large flower.
• I added stickers letters on the big flower to spell out the name of the little boy.
• There is a brad in the corner of the large photo.
• Dimensional glue outlines the waves on the bottom of the layout.
• A felt button is glued in the center of the small yellow flower.
 
I got the best of both scrapping worlds with this layout: I got to play with my supplies to add dimension, while getting to play with some really cool digital embellishments and paper.
 
I love having the option of hybrid scrapping when there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day! Have you tried hybrid scrapping?
 
Happy Friday!!
christy