Sketch + A GIVE AWAY!

Our very talented Renee, sent me this cute skinny card. I loved it so much, I wanted to use it for a sketch. To keep the fun going here at GCD, we are doing a give away for it. You have until tomorrow morning, at 10am PST to turn in your card :)

If you are pick as the winner you will win....

ONE OF EVERY COLOR.... Glitter letter stickers!

That's 14 PACKS of our GLITTER LETTER STICKERS!

Sketch

Good luck everyone, I can't wait to see what you all create. Oh and the DT gals will vote to pick the winner ;)

~H

Check it out

Last night (here in CA) we had a pretty big earthquake and I just so happen to live in Hawthorne... where it started! Just so you all know, we are all okay here and no damage took place.

moving on...

Our May Guest DT gal Emilie Ahern made so many delightful items. Just check out this layout she made. I love all the vibrant colors she combined.

I also love this other layout she created, using the Carnival Ride collection. It's the perfect collection for kids. Lots of bright colors in it. During free time, Emilie loves photograph and it shows. Just check out this photo of her daughter Ella. So cute!

Make sure you tune in tomorrow for another Sketch challenge and a give away ;)

~H

T.G.I.F.

It's been a long..... crazy week for me and I'm so happy it's Friday!

Jason (hubby) and Bradley (son), are heading off for a Father & Son camping trip and I have a friend coming over to scrap the night away (while Calvin sleeps).

This week was so busy that my hubby and I forgot our 8th wedding anniversary. lol my Mom reminded us in an email and it said " I almost forgot your anniversary was yesterday... Happy Anniversary"

Anyways, the DT has voted and our winner is.... Jing-Jing Nickel

There were many beautiful layouts turned in and the team also loved this layout by....

Deana Boston

We loved Deana's lo so much that we decided to pick her as well. SO... both of you please send me an email with your addresses at hsonboul@gcdstudios.com and place "Sketch winner" in the subject line.

Have a great weekend everyone

~H

It's been a while

It's been a while... when we last did a sketch challenge. This layout was tuned in by our Estee Stone for Mothers Day and I decided to save it for today (because I loved the look that much!).

(Product used for layout:
GCD Studios Canta Collection Patterned PaperGCD Studios Shades of Black Epoxy StickersGCD Studios Black Glitter StickersButton - Etsy Shop (Tessa Ann, Beautifully Handmade)Making Memories BradsStaz On Ink, Jet BlackDMC Black Embroidery FlossBlack thread)

Challenge:

• Create a layout...making this sketch your own
• You can use any scrapbook products you have
• Due Thursday 14th 2009.
• Try to use Mothers Day photos/theme.
• SEND IT TO hsonboul@gcdstudios.com

The DT will pick the winner and the winner will receive this:

Hello Monday

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day. I spent the day going to church, visiting my mother and visiting some friends (with my little family).

Now that Mothers day is over... I'm sure you have beautiful photos to scrap. Check out this layout by our Brenda Hurd. I love the bright colors and the layout of everything.

In this close up you can see the glitter little leafs and all the great layering Brenda did.

Mothers Day celebration- Beatriz Jennings

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY EVERYONE!

I just love this card by our Beatriz Jennings. This girls rocks at layering pattern papers. Below, you'll see step by step instructions.

Mothers Day Celebration- Krista Resnick

Krista Said:

There are so many reasons to love my Mom. I never knew what a difficult job my mom had until I became a mom myself. What an amazing job it is-and she did it so well. Everyday I am pulled and stretched in so many directions as I parent these precious little hearts and I am reminded of the great unconditional love that she continued to give to me while she was constantly being pushed and stretched by me. I owe her so much as she unselfishly worked day after day to place within me so many amazing attributes. I think there are two major things that I love about my Mom. First and foremost-she grounded me in my Faith. Without that, I shudder to think of what I might be doing today. She is a woman of amazing faith and she has passed that down to me. All those prayers that she prayed for me during my trying years were not in vain-they got me to where I am today. She put me in God's hands and I am forever grateful. I strive to be a woman of great faith and prayer like she is. She taught me what it means to love God and to give your life to him-she was and is a walking testimony to me.Secondly, I think one of the things that I love so much about my mom is that she is so compassionate. She wears her heart on her sleeve and she loves and cares about people so very much. Every time I want to become self-absorbed and focus on myself, I am reminded of how she showed me to love and care for others. It almost always snaps me out of whatever little "funk" I am wrapped up in and gets me back to being "others focused." I think you can only get so far when all you care about is yourself. You have to reach out to others, even when it's outside of your comfort zone at times. These two traits are something that are such a part of who I am today and I have my mom to thank for that. Please take the time to tell your mom something that you love about her this mother's day.

Products used:

Cardstock-Papertrey InkPatterned Paper-GCDRhinestones-KaiserCraftStamps-Papertrey InkInk-Stampin Up'Flower-Martha StewartOther-Punches-Fiskars

Mothers Day Celebration- Lynn Ghahary

Good Morning everyone

When I saw this photo of Lynn and her mother, it was so obvious they are mother and daughter :) They look so much alike. What beautiful women they are!

Lynn Said:

There is so much I can say about my mom but to sum it up she is, in one word, AMAZING. She has been there for me through everything - the good times and, well, the not so good times. She is one of the most caring people I know and is always putting others ahead of herself. She is the first person I call when I've got something on my mind and she is always there to listen. Thank you for always being there - I love you Mom!

"Grateful For You" cardSize: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4"GCD Studios supplies used:#163 Rich Boquet/Lovelry CollectionOther supplies used:Cardstock: Bazzill BasicsRibbon: Cosmo CricketFlowers: Bazzill BasicsRibbon: Cosmo CricketHemp: Stampin' Up!Thread: Coats & ClarkButtons: Making MemoriesStickers: Making MemoriesStamps: Unity Stamp CompanyInk: ColorboxCorner Rounder: EK Success

Mothers Day Celebration- Nancy Doren

Nancy said:

I am so lucky to have not one, but two wonderful moms. My mom, Brenda, is a marvelous friend, and we have had so many wonderful conversations and so much silly laughter over the years. My mother in law, Sandy, has also been an incredible friend and a fantastic listener. Unfortunately, my moms live two states away, but I'm grateful for the friendship between them... they're very close. This photo of them is from a tea party with my niece (thus the silly hats!). I love this photo because it reminds me of the week they came to visit together--we had so much fun going to garage sales, taking long walks, and eating popsicles. I'm so grateful that I have two wonderful moms to look up to!

Sometimes we meet great women that become like a mother to us. I love that Nancy created a layout about her Mother in Law. This just show that an aunt, a grandmother, a sister, a friend or a sweet mother can fill this role :)

This dress ad inspired Nancy and she decided to try it on a layout. I love the 3D look of it and I really love the stitching down the middle of the heart! What a perfect touch.

Collection used- Carnival Ride

Mothers Day Celebration- Grace Tolman

Grace said about her mother:

My mother is one of my best friends. I call her about everything and anything, especially now that I'm a mother myself. There's always something that I need her opinion on. It can be small like how to make a certain dish, to things like how do I raise my kids in the Gospel. I enjoy our relationship now more than ever. I'm also very grateful for her generosity to my kids. I have to say that my kids are on the borderline of being spoiled when they're with her. We're all definitely lucky to have her.

Mother's gift package
I chose to alter a tin container and a candle plus add a matching card with the Paris Nights collection. I love the classic look of it and because it's pretty neutral, you can personalize it with your recipient's favorite color by adding an accent of that color to the project

Candle

This one was super easy. It was actually inspired by the transparency sheet that came in the collection. I love that by adding it, it totally spruced up an ordinary votive candle. I can totally see myself repeating this technique on a much bigger glass. I finished it off with a ribbon tulle.

Altered tin container

This was originally a container for flowers. I covered it with paper and the fun embossed border in the collection. I cut out flowers in varying sizes from paper with the Cricut. Crinkled and crumpled them, then layered them on top of each other and finished off with a scallop circle and a coordinating chipboard flower.

Card

Continuing with the classic and B&W theme, I kept the design of the card to a minimum. I used the same border from the tin container onto the card to make them all coordinate and cut out a flower then adhered them again, an inch apart so that I can fit my sentiment block in the middle.

Post 2- Mothers Day Celebration - Amber Scurlock

I've asked our DT gals to share why they love their mother or a special women in their family, that has touched their life.

Why I love my mom:
Probably the most all encompassing reason I love my mom is, because she first loved me. She loved me through the screaming baby stage, through a gazillion dirty diapers, through my "stubborn child" stage (wait, has that ended?), through my emotional teenage stage, through my "I-am-so-done-with-college" stage, and through marriage (and time management struggles!). Who else can endure all that as tirelessly as a mother? Plus, my mom is adorable too. She dresses really ladylike, but is still always "cute." I'd wear most anything in her closet. She loves everybody and is a true soldier for Christ. She's not only a great mother to me, but also to my kid brother and a great wife to my dad. I count it a great honor to have been blessed with such a wonderful, wonderful mother! I thank God for you, Mama!!

Our craft altered gal Amber Scurlock made this cute altered candy dish.

One of my favorite things to do is scour stores after holidays like Valentines Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas for seasonal items (for very low costs) that can be altered. I got this little plaque after Thanksgiving last year at Hobby Lobby for a quarter and easily altered it in under an hour to make a sweet, cheerful little plaque.

First, I took a paint pen and painted a little scallop around the edge. After it dried, I traced the bottom of the plaque onto my patterned paper and cut out. I then cut an assortment of flowers from GCD Studio's awesome patterned papers and made a little garden. I added the freehand-cut grass, and the alpha stickers and then doodled some small hearts with a pen. The last step was to add a little glitter glue to give the hearts a little finished shine.

Project for Mother's Day:
"Mothers Grow Love"
Patterned Paper: GCD Studios (#551 Rain Showers, #555 Green Spring, #558 Love Squares, #557 Budding Bulb)
Alphabet Stickers: GCD Studios Pink Glitter Stickers
Pen: American Crafts
Stickles: Ranger Industries
Other: Paint Pen

Post 1- Weekend update!

Winner of the give away- Spring all over
Juliana said... My BF is coming over tomorrow to spend the day scrapping away!!! May 1, 2009 4:46 PM
Please send me your info at hsonboul@gcdstudios.com with "Spring all over paper pack" in the subject line.
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Friday Night- Reflections Event

This night was a great success. We had my dear friend Laura McColloug from A Kiss On The Chic , come and teach a make and take. She made this gorgeous mini album and we had a huge line waiting to make one. I sat down with her to help teach it.

About 45minutes into the make and take, our very own Gail (from the main office), showed up. Isn't she adorable?!

To view the whole mini album you can check it out on A kiss on the chic's blog

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Saturday- Scrapbook Expo in San Diego

This event had two buildings filled with scrappy joy. The south building carried all the shops and when I came across the Scrap Yard 329, I found a wall filled with our products. They did a great job putting it on display.

The north building carried all the classes and our very own Vicki Shepherd (you might have seen her on HSN) was there teaching 3 classes (for Sat).

She is such a fun gal, filled with great ideas. This class was titled "6 layouts in 1 hour" and I took a few photos of the class members.

It was a great weekend filled with paper and friends! I hope you all had a great scrappy holiday.

~H

Please Welcome Our May Guest Design Artist

Emilie Ahern

Bio:

I am a 30+ year old wife and a mommy of two little red-haired girls. They have perfectly beautiful names, but we find ourselves most often referring to them as Chicken and Fifi.

I have an unhealthy addiction to... Project Runway, creme brulee, the color orange, blogging, simple carbohydrates and cool Indie music. I know every single word to every single song on the ABBA Gold album. It's a crowning achievement of my life and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

I have been scrapping since 1997. In the past two years I have been fortunate enough to have been published in Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, Memory Makers, Scrapbook Trends, Paper Crafts, Scrapbooks Etc, Handmade and other scrapbooking publications. I have also been blessed to share my passion for crafting on manufacturer design teams and by teaching classes all over the US. I currently teach classes for Big Picture Scrapbooking online. Come by and take a class!

One of the greatest blessings of scrapbooking is the amazing women I have met from all over the globe who share my passion. I scrapbook because I want to live forever. I want to tell my story. I want to know myself inside and out.

Emilie's Blog

Emilie Gallery

P.S. don't forget, you have until midnight (sunday May 3rd PST) to leave a comment for the weekend give away.

Weekend Give Away + GCD NEWS + Expo = A Lot of Fun!

Todays National Scrapbook Day... Weekend give away
Leave a comment, sharing what your National Scrapbook Day plans are and you could win....
The Spring All Over Collection

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GCD NEWS
HSN is selling our Provence Collection
May2nd ( 8am PST & 11am EST)

Mothers Day celebration:
Monday (May 4th)- Sunday (May 10th)
To help celebrate Mothers day... We are going to have a week long celebration.
There will be:
- 2 give aways
-New crafty ideas each day

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Tomorrow I will be at the CKC in Pasadena, scrapbooking the day away!
The exciting part is that GCD Studios has a few class there (Thursday-Saturday)

If you live in the area, stop by :)


Top 5 Techniques and Trends (105)
Sponsor: GCD Studios

Class Description
We all want to be in on the trends, and this class will make sure you are on top of the latest techniques, trends and fabulous products in scrapbooking. Taught by industry insiders representing GCD studios, you will make 5 mini projects to use in your layouts to get hands-on experience with the topics using a variety of surfaces like chipboard, acetate, ribbon, florals, etc. You will receive four page layouts to complete at home to feature your mini projects. Techniques will be broken down to show several practical ways to utilize them in your projects. This class changes with the times, so join us for the latest trends and leave feeling fabulously “in the know” and with product samples and full color instructions.

• Class project: 5 mini projects featuring the top techniques and four pages to use to feature your projects.
• Student supplies needed: Basic supplies, Adhesive, Scissors, paper cutter, foam squares or tape (optional)
• Skill level: Beginner to Intermediate
• Class length: 1 hour
• Class price: $23.00
  

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6 Pages in 60 Minutes (105)

Class Description
Finally … a way to get pages done … and look like you spent hours doing it. We’ll keep your secret. It only takes 60 minutes to create 6 fabulous 12x12 pages. Join us as we use the fabulous time-saving products from GCD Studios including double sided printed cardstock, adhesive backed printed chipboard, adhesive back ribbon, epoxy stickers, rub-ons and more. You will learn new strategies and techniques for scrapbook layouts including page planning, wardrobing and layering as well as ideas for utilizing multiple photos in your pages. This fast-paced class will leave you empowered, energized and inspired to complete your scrapbooking projects.

• Class Project: Six 12x12 page layouts
• Student supplies needed: Basic supplies, Adhesive, 6 to 12 Photos, Black roller ball pen (zig writer), Scissors, paper-cutter
• Skill level: Beginning
• Class length: 1 hour
• Class price: $24.00