Inspired By Wrapping Paper

Remember this fabulous wrapping paper that was inspiring me?

I decided to take this challenge from CKCB:

Photo Credit

Challenge 2: Gift Wrap Challenge:  Find some cool gift wrap and use it to inspire you (perhaps the theme or for your journaling or the patterns)

I combined the challenge with some inspiration gathered in Shimelle's Inspired By Class (specifically, Stephanie Bryan's page), and came up with this layout:

It's a little hard to tell from this photo, but the polka dot paper on this layout is white with gold polka dots from Teresa Collins. I used my "way back machine" to dig a photo out of the archives-and actually scrapped one of my senior photos.

It's Time for a Throwback Thursday(An Evolution in Scrapbooking)

Just for today, I thought that it might be fun to re-share the first layout that I shared on my blog. It was an 8x8 layout, that I shared in February of 2009, and I am not really sure where it is now.

I still think that I like it, even though my scrapbooking style has taken many swings in many different directions since then.

I went through a diecut heavy phase, back when I used to scour the internet searching for hours for the perfect free file:

(I posted that one in May of 2010) Which also was the beginning of a flowery phase-I didn't like a layout unless it had some sort of flowers on it!

October 2010:

February 2011:

April 2011:

During April of 2011 sometime, I realized that bigger pictures=a good thing on my blog, so my pictures got bigger, and my layouts just kept getting heavier. 

I still love this page, though!

September 2011:

(more flowers)

November 2011:

(My layouts for that year or two were very heavy, and filled about 2 scrapbook albums very full each year!But, that's what I loved right then, and I didn't care)
After that, I went through a phase for about a year where I used a sketch for nearly every layout or card that I made. Partly because I wanted to enter a bunch of the contests that the websites ran, partly because I felt that I could scrap more quickly that way. Until I discovered Shimelle's classes/Glitter Girl videos on 2Peas, and I finally started to find a style that just flowed for me. I loved layering, I loved using up my bits and pieces, and she was just so easy and inspiring to listen to. Here is the first Glitter Girl inspired layout that I shared on my blog:

One from Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party class:

One of several that I made inspired by her Scrapbook Remix Class:

One of many inspired by Shimelle's Return to the Collection class:

Shimelle got me interested in watching all of the other garden girls videos on two peas, as well, and then I fell in love with Wilna's dreamy, artsy style.
Here's one of my favorite pages inspired by her Art and Design class:

And finally, one of my most recently completed pages, using my April Fantastic&Fabulous kit:

I definitely used bits and pieces of inspiration that I have gathered from both Wilna and Shimelle in this page, but it just sort of flowed out for me. No sketches, just me, some fun products (the flowers were printables from Wilna's Art and Design Class, and the lightbulbs on the previous page were cut files from that same class-so I guess this falls in the "sharing my homework" category as well).

Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you have been inspired as I have reminisced through at least my online scrapbooking history today!

Sharing my homework...Wilna's Art And Design Class

This class was one of my favorite classes related to scrapbooking that I have ever taken! For any one that missed the original run of it on Big Picture Classes old website, she is now offering it in her shop, iheartstudio . I felt it was well worth the cost of admission, just for the cut files, much less the wonderful inspiration and instruction! Here are a few more of my pages inspired by the class, click on "Wilna's Art and Design" in my category tab to see more:

I fussy cut the "Primeval Whirl" title from an actual photo that I took of the sign. I painted the smear across the page with Gelatos, and the "Awesome" was a cut file from the class. I know that every time I use Gelatos, I think of Wilna, and her videos for 2Peas, because I never would have discovered them if not for that.

A couple of embellishment close ups:

The "windows were also a cut file offered up in the class, and I had such fun scrapping once forgotten photos from my honeymoon, and filling the grid up with little bits of loveliness from a past counterfeit kit, such as these fun stamped and painted mixed media embellishments:

I love the tiny textured treasures on this page. The stamped cork and canvas really adds a fun bit of texture to the page!

Sharing My Homework...Paige's Pages

Today, I will be sharing for what I think will become a regular feature here on my blog. I am addicted to taking classes to improve my skills, and I was fortunate enough to win a 6 month membership to Big Picture Classes new monthly membership site. I have been looking over the content-rich new site, and I am so happy that I am getting the chance to learn from all of these uber-talented teachers, in so many different areas (the great thing about the new site-for a small monthly membership fee, you gain access to all of the classes and teachers, and they are all very talented and inspiring!) I also revisit class content from classes that I have taken from Shimelle, Wilna, etc. As I am inspired to make layouts from these classes, I will share my "homework" here on my blog. Today, I am sharing a layout that was inspired by Paige's Pages, a class taught by Paige Evans. There is no one as skilled as Paige at the use of patterned paper, which was one of the reasons why I chose Paige's class to focus on first. I had a 6x6 paper pad from My Mind's Eye included in my March kit, which was perfect for this design!

My page:

I love how my page turned out, messy stitching and all. And I love that I really got some use out of that 6x6 paper pad!