4 You

Just a quick card from Julia for you today. Using supplies from the September main kit and add-on.
And a quick note about the October kits ... I'm just waiting on a few more things that are due to arrive tomorrow. Look for the new reveal on Monday the 4th :)

Inspired Blueprints

With everything going on this month, I forgot to mention that Up The Street is one of the sponsors at Inspired Blueprints this month. You have until the 30th to use one of the September sketches and upload your layout to their gallery. Sometimes when you're stuck, you need a sketch to get going again. I love their sketches and their design team is wonderful.

Quick update

Hey everyone :)
Just a few quick things ...
The October kit may not reveal on the 1st this month. I received my order this week and was missing all the cardstock, some of the patterned papers and a lot of the embellishments. Evidently, one of the boxes from my shipment was left sitting in the warehouse. Boo. I should be getting it this week, so hopefully I'll be able to keep to my schedule but I'm not promising anything.
Also, I've started moving things into the store. They're still working on the trim and a bit of painting needs to be finished up, but I expect to be basically set up this week. Meaning ... I should be able to open my doors by Friday! Things won't be perfect, but you will definately be able to shop. I've already received the fudge (which I have left alone ... thank you very much), and the rest of my candy is due to arrive this week.
I'll keep you posted on everything as we move along. Have a great Sunday :)

Maybe this week ...

If everyone manages to stick to their schedules this week, I should be moving things into the store by the end of the week. Right now, we're waiting on the ceiling and the floor to be done. Or maybe the ceiling is already done. I haven't been in since Friday (feeling a bit stalk-ish) and the floor fellows should be there right now. I'm really looking forward to getting all of this stuff out of my house.
I've still no sneaks of the October kits. I was waiting on the newer product to find it's way to Canada and it is shipping to me today.
Until then, just a little layout done with the September add-on and a few bits from the Main Kit ... I'm a little late getting to these photos from June of 2009, but they're done now :)
One of the fabric flowers included in the Main Kit embellished with a Basic Grey brad ...

Love these stitched brads and they're the perfect size to replace an "o" or two in the MME alpha ...

Fingers crossed that the workmen show up this week!

Little Tickets

Morning all! I trust everyone had a good first week back to school. I always think that I'll have so much time to get things accomplished when the kids are gone for the day, but I seem to be further behind than I was a week ago. Go figure.
I'm still not in the store just yet. Hopefully sometime this week. I'll keep you posted ;)
Until then, have a look at the wee My Minds Eye tickets that come with the September kit. I always love little tickets on layouts. Jenni Bowlin has been making them for a few years now and I've even resorted to using leftover beer tickets from Stag & Doe's if I like the looks of them. These one's are a little different because they're connected together along their long side instead of end to end.
Julia left 3 of them together to used behind her photo ...

Mandy used one, mounted all by its lonesome, as a real focal point on her layout ...

* Mandy's layout has been removed for publication *

And on her card, Mandy layers a few as a title block ...

I love this little card. It's so small and thick and yummy. One of my favorite bits is the wee flower grouping. She used only the centres from the Prima flowers to create tiny rose buds. So pretty. Sigh.

Just finished ordering for the November kit. My favorite of all my kits so far.

And I'm trying to get December organized. I'm having a difficult time wrapping my head around Christmas this far ahead. There are so many beautiful lines out there this year. What to choose ... what to choose ...

September Contest!

Happy Labour Day!

I'm so ready for these kids to be back in school. They are nattering like blue jays this morning. Will is excited about going tomorrow. Bob ... not so much. And Paul is ticked that he has to wait until Wednesday to start.

I was trying to come up with something a little different for this month's contest and thought we would use layouts from the September Gallery as inspiration. I know that there are a few that I plan on scraplifting and thought maybe everyone else would enjoy a good ol' fashioned 'lift too. Simply use any of the layouts found in the September Gallery as a starting point for your layout ... colours, layout, theme ... or just scraplift the whole thing.
Leave a comment on this post with a link to your online layout before September 30, 2010 (midnight EST) and you will be entered into a random drawing for a $30 credit to the Up The Street store (shipping NOT included in the prize). Enter as often as you like for more chances to win.

Great minds think alike ...

Julia and Mandy must have thought the same thing when they saw the Basic Grey Oliver Greyson paper that came in the September kit because we all used it in a similar way.
We basically just left it alone and grouped our photos and embellishments together to leave a good portion of "white space".
I also used the Basic Grey Micro Monos that came with the August kit for my layout ...
The black background is perfect for journaling with a white pen ...

Julia also used bits from the September add-on for her layout ...

The Oliver Bloomers and Fancy Pants sticker work perfectly ...

Mandy cut one of the MME die cuts to frame her photo grouping (which also uses another die cut as a matte) and punched butterflies from the scraps of the black patterned paper (to use the reverse side for a cost-effective embellishment).

A great example of using very few supplies to create a stunning layout ...Layers and layers and layers :)

@ the lake

This is another example of a layout using that gorgeous Basic Grey Doily paper included in the September kit. In this case, Julia flips it over to take advantage of the pure white of the back.
It creates the perfect backdrop for photos from a beautifully serene day at Lake Huron.

Bo Bunny Double Double Dot paper is one of my favorite products to use in place of cardstock. I think it would actually be considered a patterned paper because it has a dot pattern on one side, a more distressed version of the same dominant colour on the back and has a white core. It just gives you so many more options than a standard sheet of cardstock would.

Julia uses the backside of the paper and sands the surface to fit her beach theme perfectly.

I hope everyone enjoys their last holiday weekend of the summer. Things will be busy here for sure :)

"Good Boy"

So here's the story of how I "met" Mandy ...
Back in May, one of the layouts I had done with the March kit was posted on the Studio Calico blog with a link to my gallery at Two Peas in a Bucket. Mandy messaged me to ask what kind of dog Molly was, because she had a Jug and thought they looked similar. Molly is, in fact, a Jug and up until that point, I hadn't known anyone else with one. Then after seeing Mandy's work, I knew she'd be a perfect fit for Up The Street. Funny ... huh?
So I thought it was appropriate that my favorite layout from Mandy, using the September kit, was one that featured her funny little Jug.
I love how she's cut apart the Basic Grey doily paper to layer in a unique way with the Basic Grey doily trim tape and other embellishments. Such great texture and so much going on ... but your eye goes straight to that adorable soft little puggy nose.

I'm so glad to have had Mandy "find" me :)

August Contest Winner!

Sorry for posting this so late! It completely slipped my mind today and I just thought of it now.
Anyhow, this month's winner of the $30 store credit is Ruby M!
Congratulations Ruby :)
You can either use your credit now or wait for a few weeks until the store opens in Strathroy.
Thanks to everyone who entered this month and I'll post September's contest tomorrow.

September "Charming"

The September kits are up on the website and ready to roll.
Veering away from what I've done with the last few kits, the main kit, "Charming", contains patterned papers from only two different companies ... My Mind's Eye and Basic Grey. I loved the intense blues, greens and reds from the So Sophie and Oliver lines, so I just built around those.
One of my favorite items from the kit is the Basic Grey doily paper ... so many colours and lace styles in just that one piece ...

Wonderful patterns on the backs ...

Stickers, die-cuts and stitched brads ...

Handmade fabric flowers ...

With coordinating fabric covered buttons ...Two alphabets ... a glitter, foam Thicker and a smaller MME sticker (my new favorite alpha) ...

One add-on this month ... "A Family Favorite" featuring Fancy Pants "My Family" ...

The colours work wonderfully with the main kit ...

A 12x12 piece of corrugated cardboard paper and a full package of those adorable Basic Grey Oliver Woolies. Soooo cute ...

Visit the website for full kit contents and to order.