The solution to your problem could be waiting for you in your junk drawer!  (Everybody has a junk drawer, right?)

 What am I talking about?  A deck of playing cards!

I’d bet that we all have some somewhere in our house (check the junk drawer).

They’re so versatile…you can use the front, the back, you can cut them horizontally, vertically and diagonally and stick them wherever you need a little something extra on your layout.

 Here are the cards I have:

 I found the round playing cards at a flea market for .50!  Love the martini on the front…perfect for a future Girls Night Out layout!  In addition to a standard deck, I also have a Marcella by K Alpha Deck.  These aren’t playing cards, but cards that were made as a scrapping embellishment.  I love them, and have used them often.  They’re the same size as a playing card, 2.5”x3.5”, which makes it easy to mix and match the two.  I did exactly that on this layout:

Don’t forget about UNO, Old Maid, and Go Fish.  Go to the dollar store to see their selection.  You can also find other novelty playing cards in lots of different colors, sizes and even shapes.  I saw some shaped like a flip flop once!

              Don’t fold under the pressure of finding new embellishments.  Playing cards could be your ace of spades, and will make you a Scrappin’ Queen!!

Make it work!

Lu

Grab one of these past classes for a GREAT deal (today only!). I will email the class PDF to the PayPal email you use to purchase it(unless you give me a different email into the notes). Of course, it isn’t the same as taking a class live…but at least you can gather a bit of motivation while you are waiting for our next class in April!
(The newest class is available under the classes tab above for full price still.)

These are amazing prices…most are at least 60% off the original price!

Time’s up!! I will email out the pdf’s today. Enjoy!!

By Becky (for our MbM challenge!)-

By Kari Ann-

Here’s hoping you find some time to be crafty this weekend. Have a great day!

Have you ever created a layout and wanted to hide your journaling on the page?  There are several reason you might want to do this:
1. Not enough space on your page.
2. The story is private.
3. You hate your handwriting.
4. Hiding your journaling can be an opportunity to add a decorative touch to your page.

To get started you can use any of these that you prefer:

But you really only need these:

Your journaling box can be any shape or size, just remember to keep your journaling box smaller than the item you are hiding it under, allowing for whatever adhesive you are using.  You can even hide it in an envelope.

Step 1: Punch out your tab and add adhesive to the back.  (I like to run in through my Xyron, but any adhesive will do)

Decide which direction you want your tab to go.  If you have side loading pages, you will want your tab on the side, top loading pages on the top, etc.

Step 2: Adhere your tab to your box, then fold in half and adhere it to the back.

Step 3: Add adhesive to 3 sides of your photo mat, making sure to leave an opening for your box to slide in and out.

Backside views:

Step 4: Adhere your photo (mat) to your page and slide in your journaling box.

If you head on over to my personal blog click here today, I will be showing a video on how to create these hidden journaling boxes as well a few other ideas and this page below.  Hope I’ve inspired you to add a little secret message on your next layout.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North
www.heatherscreativeblessings.blogspot.com

 I ran across this post on Paper Crafter’s Corner.  Now, the first thing that caught my eye was the title.  How could I NOT read a post titled “Honeycomb’s Big, Yeah, yeah, yeah!”??? A post about cereal? I quickly realized that “honeycomb” referred to hexagons, and there were a lot of hexagons to see!

My next destination was Google Images, and then I headed on over to Pinterest.  Hexagons everywhere!

On the Fancy Pants blog, I saw a layout that really caught my eye. It’s called “The Princess & the Ipod” and it was done by Betsy Veldman.  Here’s a portion of the layout:

I really like the way she stitched through the hexagons, so I decided to try it myself.

It’s been a while since I dusted off that old Creative Memories hexagon maker!

Here’s hoping you find some inspiration from all this geometric goodness!  Have a good week!

Make it work!

Lu

Anne’s dog Chance had to wear the “cone of shame” after a run-in with some lawn edging.

Angie did this double page spread about her “big dogs”.

Shane is a beloved member of Wendi’s family. Isn’t he the cutest?

Gotta give the kitties equal time! Nola’s cats are “Picture Perfect!”

Let your feisty felines and cuddly canines inspire you…grab your camera and take a few shots of your pets!

Have a Fab Friday, y’all!!

Here’s my challenge to you on the forum this month:
We have a few fun challenges on the forum to inspire you. We started member challenges this month and we still have openings throughout the year if you want to sign up to host one! Jean, Lu, Von and I all have challenges up this month. You can see all of the challenges HERE.

I thought it would be fun to scraplift one of our members and DT Alum, Julia! I love her layouts and she is such a fun person and very inspirational. Soooo…lift this layout by Julia. You can lift it all or part of it. Just let us know which part if it isn’t obvious. Love the colors and design in this layout!!

Here’s my version!

Join me and lift Julia’s fabulous page! Upload your page to the gallery and the forum so we can all ooh and ahhh with you.

By Vicki-

By Adonica-

By Jayne-

I hope you are as inspired by these layouts and members as I am. Thanks for scapping and sharing with us, ladies. Have a fabulous weekend!!

Without further ado, the January sketch is sure to please! Stacey’s sketches never fail to wow me and this month was no exception!

Here’s my January ’12 layout:

Please post your link in the thread on the Forum (under Challenges). Everyone who plays along will be entered into a drawing for some scrappy goodies from yours truly.

Extra challenge: Pull out something that you haven’t used in a long time and use it on your layout…get out those paints, mists, and crackle mediums. (I used Rock Candy crackle paint that I’ve had in a drawer forever and haven’t used very much, if at all). Be messy…smear or splatter that paint (use an old toothbrush and dip it in watered down paint…then rub your thumb down it to create splatters). You know me…most of all…HAVE FUN WITH IT!

This layout is for January’s pics…look for February’s to be posted on March 1st. Didn’t take any pics in January? That’s ok…you can join us any time!

Have a wonderful scrap-happy February!
Von

Who is this fabulous person you might ask? It’s Lu!! She will be helping me to keep things going at I2S and rounding up all of the guest bloggers and designers for the next four months.

Here she is…keep on reading to learn all about her.

I’m a native North Carolinian with a thick southern accent and I’m a proud member of G.R.I.T.S….Girls Raised In The South!!

Thanks to I2S, I’m more willing to try new products and techniques. I can’t wait to see what the next few months will bring!

And I know we all look forward to more Lu around here! Looking forward to working with you, Lu!