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.