Adore Scrapbook Layout

Emily used the vignettes paper from the Field Notes collection as the base of her layout. She used the paper's design to her advantage by integrating the frames into her plan.

"The frames on the Vignettes paper are such a fabulous trend right now. I trimmed the centers from some of them surrounding the photos and create little 'framed' points of interest. Use SEI's fabulous foam tape to adhere the Vignette patterned paper to a coordinate backing of patterned paper."

"Little points of interest on a layout can be used to showcase bursts of patterned paper. Try creating a mini banner or layer strips together!"

Anyone doing something fun for April Fool's day tomorrow?

Thinking of You Layout

"I like to keep things very clean, simple, and minimal. This technique is especially effective when all you want to do is highlight a small detail or item in a photo. Here, I really wanted to highlight the stuffed animal, but still keep the surrounding elements in the photo to evoke calmness. The trick I usually use is to use pattern papers in the same color family but different tones to help highlight without overpowering the layout."

"I used the floral pattern paper and 'thinking of you' sticker from the Vanilla Sunshine collection which has some light blue tones to it. I also used the bright blue from Cheery Brights to create a banner which also had several tones of the turquoise in it. Lastly, to add to the calmness and highlight the bright colors from the photo further, I used a black cardstock for its background."

SEI April Desktop Calendar

With spring officially here, we're ready for budding flowers, happy colors and maybe even picnics. What's your favorite part of spring?

1024 x 768   1280 x 1024   1600 x 1200   1900 x 1200   2650 x 1440
ipod 640 x 960    ipad 1024 x 1024
 

As always let us know if you have any questions and thanks for using these!

Card Ideas from Club SEI

This month's Club SEI Card-making Kit includes so many fun products. In fact, after making all 10 cards instructions were given for, club members could also make all of these (and more) with their leftovers!

To learn more about Club SEI, see more details of this kit, or sign-up visit clubsei.com.

Play Together & Stay Together

"I used my favourite new line Vanilla Sunshine for this layout - with its bright colours and fun embellishments I knew it would be perfect for a nice spring/summer layout - it just screams sunshine!!"

"I have been waiting for over 10 years to scrapbook these two photo's of my boys. Riding their Little Tykes cars up and down the sidewalk was one of their favourite things to do on a beautiful day. As soon as I saw Vanilla Sunshine I knew exactly what my first layout was going to be with it since I could never find a paper line that complemented them (and wasn't too girly) until now!! I look at these photo's I can't believe where the time has gone... and that at one time, my now teenage sons, actually DID get along LOL!!"

"I used the Honey Bubbles sheet and cut out the colours that I wanted to work with and I just love the result. This paper is gorgeous when it catches the light and the iridescent circles glow... just like rays of sunshine hitting my layout! I didn't want to many patterns to fight with my photo's so I used some of the more solid colour fabric swatches, some of the delicious washi tape (yes this is my absolute favourite!!) and sidewalk chalk paper for my title and some Silhouette work. I love how I added just the "and" sign from the letter sheet, with a little Sundries heart to add a pop of colour on an otherwise dark title! Adding a few of the die cut accents and some of embellishments was just enough to put the finishing touches on this layout!"

"Thanks so much for letting me share today... I hope you are all getting some beautiful sunshine where ever you are today!"

"Change" Scrapbook Layout

We love all the beautiful and clever ideas our design team shares each month. Aren't they amazing ladies? Speaking of which, check out the way Amy cut up the frame paper from this collection to use like little hanging frames. Brillant!

"I absolutely loved all of the bold and beautiful patterned papers in the new Field Notes Collection. However I couldn't decide on just one bold patterned paper to use! So I got out my trusty craft knife and extracted pieces of my favorite patterned papers so that I could use them all on one page."

"I used two of my favorite papers to create the pieced background for my page. Then I extracted the frames from one piece of paper and the butterflies from another. I chose some bold solids to use inside of my frames and to punch up the color in my layout."

"To help my title really stand out on the page I sprayed my corrugate cardboard alphas with black Tumble Dye mist and allowed them to cry completely before adding them to my layout."

"I also used a variety of tags and journaling stickers from this collection to spread my journaling in bits throughout the page."'

Twirl Scrapbook Layout

Kim mixed elements from our three newest paper collections for this layout. It's always fun to see different ways to use the embellishments. One of the unique things Kim did on this layout was layering several different borders under her photo.

"Twirl was inspired by spring and the golden hues of the sunset. I just loved this yellow patterned paper in the field notes collection. I used it as the main background for my page and then several strips of paper along the sides. Also I used some of the fabric paper, it's subtle and soft and the pink is such a great contrast against the yellow. I love all the little accents in the collection, the dimensional stickers and corrugated alpha letters."

This detail photo shows how Kim added dimension. She folded the butterfly wings and banner die-cut and used foam spacers for added depth. What is your favorite way to add depth to a scrapbook layout?

Winner + Coupon Code Reminder

We have a winner from Friday's giveaway...

Lynda, please send your mailing address to seiblog{at}shopsei{dot}com to claim your Felizitations cards, envelopes & labels PLUS your SEI papers and embellishments.

Please visit Dorthea's blog, Felizitations, and thank her for guest blogging last week. Remember you have until the end of the month to use the 15% discount code SEIFan on your Felizitations order.

Found Object Table Scape and Giveaway!

I love anything to do with weddings. The macaroons that I posted on Monday were for my sister's bff. I think she had one of the most beautiful showers I've ever seen in real life, haha. The invitations were my contribution. In the invitation, we printed a space for each guest to detach and bring a recipe. I was put in charge of creating a welcoming table for the recipes to be collected. I've been low on funds so I decided to do a "found object" arrangement. As you can tell from the picture below, this was not expensive to make at all but still ties in the rustic feel the bridal shower was going for.

As a thank you to all you SEI readers I'm giving away a set of 15 Thank You cards with coordinating envelopes and wraparound labels. This is what I do and love and I'd like to share it with a reader out there! Also to all SEI readers I'm giving a 15% discount until the end of the month. Just mention the code SEIFan to receive it. Thank you again for the wonderful week here, it's been an awesome visit!

Thank you Dorthea! It has been an amazing week. We love all the beautiful ideas and printables you shared. We are so excited to see what famous couple's wedding you are doing today on your blog! We love what you did for Rhett & Scarlet and Adam & Eve.

Giveaway time! This week's giveaway is pretty sweet. One lucky person will win 15 of Dorthea's lovely thank you cards with coordinating envelopes and labels PLUS a fun assortment of papers and embellishments from SEI's newest spring collections.

To enter to win, leave a comment on this post telling Dorthea which idea(s) she shared inspired you most this week. For a second entry, like Felizitations on facebook here. Then come back and leave a comment to let us know you did. The giveaway ends Sunday. Good luck!

Static Cling Quiet Book with Printable Downloads

Road trips are something that don't seem to get easier with kids. I've wanted a quiet book for my son Monroe for a while, but I can't bring myself to spend months of sewing a book that he'll outgrow within a year. Static clings and dry erasers to the rescue!

Static clings are the coolest product I've seen in a while and you can print on them from any inkjet printer. They're a little pricey but well worth it (Office Depot, $14.99). They can be used on any of the projects in this book and reused on car windows, glass doors and refrigerators! Perfect road trip product, right?

To make this activity book, I used an SEI album. I included family pictures in my book and 5 activity pages. You can download the pages here and wall decal pages here. They include:

• one of these things is not like the other
• shapes activity
• body part activity (print on wall decal paper)
• color matching game (print on wall decal paper)
• numbers game

The great thing about the monster body parts is that you can also make any family picture look silly, without ruining the photos. This quiet book is also perfect for dry erase markers, they wipe right off the page protectors. I made a pocket with an extra 4" x 6" protector to the back to hold all of the markers.

Here are the materials needed to make the album:
• 8.5"x11" album
• 4"x6" album refills
• an assortment of 12 papers
• wall decal pack, you only use 4 pages, so you could easily split it with someone
• print out activity pages

Customize your quiet book however you'd like! As your child grows, you can make the activities more challenging. It's perfect for engaging a child's imagination.

My Little Helper

As a lady, I hate having a million things to carry around in my purse. I can never find anything and all I ever really need is my phone and a few credit cards. Anybody else with me on this?

In my goodie bag from SEI, I spotted the lovely fabric swatches from Vanilla Sunshine and *lightbulb*, the perfect phone case was born. Here's what I did:

Supplies:
1. Vanilla Sunshine fabric swatches- (or any other fabric you may have laying around) I liked the sturdiness that the paper backing gave the pocket.
2. Scissors and a sewing machine (or needle and thread) to sew together case.
3. Pattern- click the image below. To get the case to match to your phone exactly, trace your phone and add a 1/4" border for a seam. Do not add the border to the top part of the phone (see pattern for visual).
4. Wool felt.
5. Strap (not pictured)- button, 1.5" x 3" piece of fabric for strap, and small piece of velcro

Instructions:
1. Print pattern (or trace phone, see #3 in supply list) and place on top of felt. Cut out pattern from felt.
2. Pick a fabric swatch from the Vanilla Sunshine assortment pack, or trace 'pocket' from your own fabric.
3. Fold 'strap' piece of fabric in half and sew around 2 edges. Turn inside out and finish sewing open end.
4. Sew button on one end of the strap. Measure about 4" up from the bottom of a 'sleeve' piece and secure strap to 'sleeve'.
5. Line up velcro pieces and sew velcro pieces to strap and 'pocket'.
6. Place pocket piece in between the two 'sleeve' pieces and stitch around 1/4" border.
7. Turn outside in. Done!

A suggestion that could make this handier is adding a pocket with zipper to the backside for items that you'd like secured (i.e. keys and change). I'm intimidated by zippers so I didn't add that, haha.

Potato Stamp

Printmaking was one of my favorite classes in college. It is one of those classes that is too expensive to recreate in my own home. So, in order to fill my print cravings I have reverted to a technique that most people haven't thought of since elementary, potato block printing!

Here is what you need:

(clockwise, from top left)

Supplies:
1. Fabric, I have jersey photographed but I printed on cotton and canvas.
2. Stencils- I'm totally loving the tribal looks right now, click the image below to download. Draw out any design that you want though.
3. Paint brush
4. Ceramic carving tools & Exacto knife- I happened to have these but an Exacto and paring knife work great.
5. Potato!
6. Paint- screen printing paint ($2.99, Hobby Lobby), Tumble Dye (not pictured).

Instructions:
1. Cut potato in half and dab flat side on paper towel to remove excess water.
2. Cut out your stencil (if using tribal file, leave black in tact) and place on top of the white of potato.
3. Carve around your stencil (I used my Exacto for this part) and cut away the 'background'.
4. Dab 'stamp' on paper towel and with a paint brush apply paint/tumble dye.
5. Press firmly onto fabric and reapply paint, repeat.
6. Allow to dry, and follow paint instructions on how to heat set the stamps onto the fabric.

Remember, embrace the imperfections that the potato makes with the stamps. If there is an area that needs filling or correction, use a small paintbrush. I was able to make my potato stamp and print on three onesies and one pillow in about an hour and a half (one of Monroe's naps, my son). If you have older kids, it's an awesome craft to have them design their own clothes!

Guest Blogger: Dorthea Brundage

We are so happy that Dorthea accepted our invitation to be a guest blogger! We got to know her when she worked as a graphic designer for SEI. She is just the kind of person you'd like have as a friend... creative, funny, kind, and encouraging... one of those rare people who really delights in other's successes. She puts her heart in everything she does.

Dorthea has a week full of wonderful ideas to share, complete with templates and printables. To make it even sweeter, we will also have a giveaway starting Friday. So, you won't want to miss a single day!

My name is Dorthea Brundage. I'm a wife, mom, graphic designer and collector (not a hoarder, more like Elijah Wood in Everything is Illuminated, but not as OCD). I like to collect anything beautiful, I've been that way since I was little. Scraps of paper, iridescent bug bodies, sticks, discarded packaging, shiny rocks, anything and everything that catches my eye. I eventually find a way to use it.

A few things about me:
• I currently get to stay home and raise my yogurt covered raisin baby boy (he's white on the outside but brown on the inside). Being half El Salvadoran, I'm teaching him Spanish and enjoy being the one to fill his curious mind with answers.
• I have a little company called Felizitations. I specialize in custom mailing labels (people send me their guest list and I print them on adhesive labels for special events) and invitations.
• I'm married to my best friend and love getting to do almost everything together.
• You can always find me posting either on my day to day blog: The Bean Routine, or wedding lovelies at: Felizitations & Etsy

Here's a little of what I do:

Today I wanted to touch on the beauty of colors. They are everywhere and we can be inspired by everything around us if we're looking for it. My sister asked me to help make some french macaroons for her bff's bridal shower, recipe here. I was excited because they always looks so beautiful in pictures, but terrified because I don't consider myself a baker. When we were done, I was so happy we'd made them. Not only were they beautiful, but they made the most exquisite spring color palette.

If you love this color combo, you can view the full wedding board I created here.

Try new things and you just might surprise and inspire yourself!

All Smiles

For spring and Easter layouts, you may be tempted to use traditional pastel colors for your layouts and projects. Pearl shows how happy bright colors work wonderfully for this time of year. To decide what colors to use, pull colors from your photos instead.

"Egg painting is so much fun! Here's a layout using the Vanilla Sunshine collection which is a perfect mix of spring appropriate colors to highlight bright jewel tone eggs my god daughter and I dyed together. To really bring out the colors in the picture, I kept the papers to a minimum and matted lighter colors behind the pictures to balance the very bold turquoise as its background. And lastly, I cut a strip of paper in the shape of a label but used it with a washi tape effect."

Art Studio Picks: Emily

What inspires me? So many things. Most of all the great fore-photography-fathers inspire me. Irving Penn, Joel Meyerowitz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, Patrick Demarchelier.

Irving Penn: I’ve always wanted to do a photo shoot with live Elephants, wouldn’t that be amazing!

Joel Meyerowitz: My bragging rights, I met him, and actually had dinner with him. Great photographer, we have him to thank for 9-11 documentation.

Posing Tips for Photos: There are so many photographers that can inspire our photos; regardless of the type of photos we hope to take. We can all create images like Irving Penn. Replace the model with our own child or niece or nephew and replace the live elephants with our prized pets and you’ve created your own Irving Penn. The great images of all time can be re-made into our own masterpieces for our enjoyment. Here are some ideas for posing that can not only help you look glamorous for your upcoming wedding but can also give you tips on how to pose for family photos.

Another major inspiration of mine is Maps. Maybe I suffer from desire to travel on the brain, but I love them; as a blanket, as a design wall sticker element for the home, or even as sentimental memorabilia. SEI has a darling paper with a pink tint map in their Promise Me paper pad that I adore.

I love this idea with the heart-shaped maps. It would be so much fun to make heart-shaped maps for a wedding gift of where the couple met, where they were married, and where they are going to live. I have a lot of friends that are military brats; maybe I’ll make them a collage of all the places throughout the world that they have lived.

What about you?? What inspires you?

(We have each enjoyed sharing what inspires us! If you have enjoyed the Art Studio Picks series, leave a comment and tell us. So we know whether to continue doing it.)

Club SEI April Scrapbooking Kit

The Club SEI April Scrapbooking kit features the Vanilla Sunshine collection. Don't these cheery layouts make you happy?

To learn more about Club SEI, see more details of this kit, or sign-up go to clubsei.com.

Bee Yourself Scrapbook Layout

It's surprising that Patty could create such a masculine scrapbook page using butterflies. But, it works great! She did it by layering structured masculine patterns. The Field Notes collection has so many possibilities!

The layout is complete with lot's of carefully placed details...

...washi tape, staples, stamped words, label strips, tags and stickers. What is your favorite detail?