CHA Sneak Peek: Pink Paislee!!

I don't know if I can keep up with all the Sneak Peeks!  Everything's exploding as we enter the countdown to Summer CHA 2010!

Pink Paislee has been teasing us with hints, but on Monday they released the locker combination for their Old School collection....

This collection is awesome for scrapping those back to school photos but, it the tradition of PP, the collection is so versatile it can be used for many other projects too.  We were also excited to see this fabulous new Halloween line, Hocus Pocus....

Of course there are two more that we will get to see today and tomorrow... we are so excited to finally get a peek at them!!

...and...

We are all most intrigued to see what that last collection Parisian Anthology is going to look like... we are definitely liking these Pink Paislee releases!  Click HERE to visit Pink Paislee's blog and view all the fun new lines with us.

What are your thoughts?  We'd love to hear from you which one is your favorite of the four new lines!

An Altered Crate for your Desk -- Christmas in July!

Most all of us Prima lovers have at least one of these crates from the days of glass milk bottles of flowers in crates.  If not, Flamingo Scraps has a couple for sale!

This little project makes a great Christmas present or storage for your own desk or scrap space.  The rugged wood crate is also easily adapted for a man's desk or workspace!

Did you know that Maya Mists and Distress Inks can be used on bare wood?  It is a fun and fabulous technique.  For this crate, I layered shades of pink Maya Mist and rubbed them into the wood with a cloth.  Then I layered Distress Inks until I got the shade and sheen I wanted.  Any combination of mists and inks would do, just be sure they penetrate the wood and wipe off any excess.

I found these flirty, bendable, glittery, flowers at my local drugstore -- they started out as magnets -- and attached them with Fabri-Tac.  Just for kicks, I attached large pink and green jewels to the bottom as little "feet."

Voila!  The perfect storage container for your most frequently used tools -- here with adhesives and a Tim Holtz inking tool!

Do you like the altered storage crate?  If so, it could be yours!  Enter a random drawing to win the Crate simply by commenting on this post on our blog or facebook page, getting a friend(s) to join Flamingo Scraps' blog, and having them post on the blog that you sent them and they are NEW followers! A winner will be drawn August 2. But WAIT!! There's more! Check our blog regularly for similar drawings for presents for YOU during Christmas in July at Flamingo Scraps!

CHA Sneak Peek: More Scrappy Goodness from Prima!

I am really loving this Jack and Jill Collection from Prima!  I think it just might be my favorite of their new paper collections.  The soft colors are so sweet and pretty.... and I have so many old baby and toddler photos to scrap!  I just may get some scrapping accomplished :-)

We are still busy deciding what to order and carry in the store!  Is there any stuff coming out for Prima that you are just dying to have? We'd love to hear what you are adding to your wishlist!
 

Scraptathlon Week # 10 - Winners Announced!

Susan and I have made it to the end of the ten weeks!!  Susan ended up having to take another bye this week so she could spend time pulling together orders for CHA and pack for a family vacation.  This week our challenge was inspired by the song Chocolate Cake by Crowded House.  Here was our challenge from Kia:

I've been saving this one up for awhile. Those who know me know that chocolate is ALL to me. I don't want to limit you to a LO about chocolate, though some of us could fill an album on the subject. So, for your grand finale, I require the following:
1. A 2 page layout
2. Featuring something SWEET
3. With predominantly CHOCOLATE (milk or dark up to you) colorways.
4. A non-digi product

So this gave me a perfect opportunity to finish up a layout that's been sitting on my desk for almost two years.... I was so stuck!

From Flamingo Scraps:  Prima flowers and e-line pearls & crystals, brown ruffle trim

Other supplies: Bazzill cardstock, Making Memories felt alpha stickers and a brown fine point sharpie pen

The only challenged I faced was reminding myself that I wanted it to blend in with my other album layouts for that trip - a monochromatic brown color scheme with very simple embellishments. Here are a couple of other pages from the album:

I think it will fit perfectly in my album and I'm excited to have another two layouts done!!  In a couple of weeks, Kia will be here for the month of August to challenge you each week.... there will be fabulous scrappy prizes!!  Keep an eye out for it and I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

CHA Sneak Peek: Webster's Pages Waiting for Santa

The Sneak Peeks are coming fast and furious now!  Webster's Pages just posted their Waiting for Santa collection.  It will debut at Summer CHA and it is stunning!

Here's a link to Webster's InspireMe blog.  If you're a Webster's Pages lover, join InspireMe for lots of ideas, challenges and chances to win prizes!

So are you loving this for Christmas?  Please post a comment and let us know what you think!

Christmas in July: Maya Road Christmas Tree Album

This fabulous little Christmas tree mini album from Maya Road takes a little patience, but the result is soooo worth it!! Depending upon how much you embellish, it can stand alone as a Christmas decoration, or you can leave room for pictures. I chose to leave room for small pictures and plan to give it to my mother for Christmas 2010 pics!

From Flamingo Scraps:  Maya Road Christmas Tree album, Prima bling, Pink Paislee Mistletoe & Company, Ranger distress inks

Other supplies: miscellaneous trims and ribbons from the stash!

The album is made up of  six layers and a star (which I left off this one) joined by a binder ring.   All of the layers were inked on the edges with black Maya Road ink, then front and back were covered with Pink Paisless Mistletoe & Co. patterned papers.  The papers were distressed with Tim Holtz Distress Inks and then I layered on the bling -- Prima, Glitz, Maya Road Chandelier Beads and some misc. bling from my stash!

"Front" side of the album fanned out to show all the pages!

The "Back" side of the album pages!

I just love the baby blue with the red, brown, black, and kraft colors in this collection and was fortunate to find some baby blue organza ribbon in my stash for the binder ring! I also used red, beige, blue, and black patterned ribbon and some natural twill with Merry Christmas on it and an additional chandelier bead to jazz up the ring. Some of ribbons had bright white in the patterns, so I swiped on the distress ink to tone it down.

I just hope I can really bear to give it away!!

Merry Christmas in July!!

CHA Sneak Peek: Webster's Pages

One of our favorite brands, Webster's Pages, has promised us four new lines for Summer CHA 2010.  Additionally, a little Webster's birdie hinted to us that additional colors of Bloomers will be released!  I hope our information is correct!  Those bloomers add something special to a layout.

Here are some peaks at two new collections from Webster's Pages.  First, Hollywood Vogue......

And second, Wonderfall.......

I'm loving both of these collections!  I'm already thinking about all the layouts I can do.  But I mainly just want to get my hands on them and gaze at them in wonder and amazement.   Thank you Brandin O'Neill for satisfying my scrappy addiction!

Flamingo Scraps would love to hear from you about Hollywood Vogue and Wonderfall from Webster's Pages!

Christmas in July: Altered Lunch Box & Greeting Cards

My Mom just loves my handmade Greeting Cards (blush!)

A few years ago, she asked me to make her some Greeting Cards for a Christmas present.  With Greeting Cards so expensive, this really is a thoughtful gift to give someone.  Especially if that someone is on a fixed income.  So I made an assortment of Greeting Cards that she could use throughout the year.  I made thank yous, birthday, sympathy, just because, holidays and some blank ones too. 

 I found some nice lunchboxes at Oriental Trading Company and altered one to store the Greeting Cards in.  I just covered the lunch box with paper and ribbon.  Tied some coordinating ribbons on the handle and added some embellishments.  It turned out cute and didn't take but an afternoon to do.  Then I filled it with the Greeting Cards I had made.

I'm refilling her lunchbox for one of her Christmas presents, I've been smart and I have been making cards all along this year!





It's still more than 5 months until Christmas - why don't you start making some Greeting Cards today and get a jump start on your Christmas presents?

Looking Back: Amanda

We have been busy the last few weeks reviewing all the new products and deciding what to carry in the store. So many beautiful new Primas, fabulous new papers and we still have yet to see everything. It has not left us with much time to hit the scraproom!

So today, we will take a walk back in time by featuring a look back at my style and how it has evolved over the years. I often say that I started scrapbooking back in 2005, after we got married. But actually, I rediscovered my very first mini album recently... from 1997!  A cute altered Disney photo album about a trip I went on in high school.  I had so much fun celebrating my 17th birthday with my friends!

Nothing but stickers, markers, pics, some ephemera and those Crayola stamp pens (anyone remember or still have those?!)

I kinda skipped the scrapbooking in college and stuck with putting photos in albums.... but as soon as I was out of college, Brian and I went on our first trip together - Disneyworld!  And they were selling scrapbook kits.  They had a cool album, some plain colored paper and stickers.  Scrapbooking circa 2002! :)

2002-2003:

The Brown Derby at MGM Studios and....

Topiaries at Epcot.  The entire album looks like a set of decorative edged scissors attacked!! :)

2003-2004:

I spent the first half of the year continuing to make slow progress on the Disneyworld album and the late part of 2003 and most of 2004 working on our album of pictures for our trip to Maui.  Disneyworld?  Still incomplete... Maui?  Done, but no titles or journaling!  Anyone else have albums like that?!

2005:

Spent most of the year planning our wedding, which included 80 of these.  I made them... designed, printed, handcut the red paper from huge sheets of cardstock from Aaron Brothers, hand stamped and embossed the vines on the top, tied the ribbon on and assembled.  whew.  And it included an rsvp card and this:

Front of directions card and....

Back of directions card.  And I hand drew the map, added the text markers, printed and then...

hand colored the maps on 80 of those.  Did I mention I also had a custom stamp made for the addresses on the envelope?  Or hand made 150 thank you cards (including embossing)?!  Not much time for scrapbooking that year!! :)  At least someone got use of the maps.... the owner of the bed & breakfast we got married at liked the map so much it's still on her website!

2006:

Made for my good friend Sarah in a swap.  Yes, my prima addiction has officially begun!

2007:

I still loved lots of flowers!! This is still one of my favorite layouts today.

2008:

My favorite layout of our furbaby to date!

2009:

One of my prior Scrapthatlon layouts and my first use of Flamingo Scraps products... the lace trim and butterfly!

2010:

And finally, one of my favorites so far this year.  Read more about this layout here.

It was fun looking back over the years.  I have to say I don't think my style has drastically changed.  I see a lot of similarity between the layouts.  And I love the flowers!!

Have you taken a look back lately?

Scraptathlon Week # 9

Week # 9 at Scraptathlon - just one more week to go and guess what?  Amanda is tied for third place!  Way to go A!!!

Here were our instructions from our hostess Kia:

It's use your STASH week here at Scraptathlon. Our victim this time around is BUTTONS! I have drawers full of buttons, I don't know why, but, I need to get past using one or two in a LO and USE some of the zillions that I have. So, for this week, your challenge is to use heaps of bountiful, bodacious, beee-yoo-ti-ful buttons as possible on your LO.

Here is Susan's take on the challenge:

This was a fun week on Scraptathlon!  And boy did we need it after Kia's Crazy Eights challenge last week!  I love buttons and I used a mixture of old and new on my layout.  I found some old photos of my kids on Cinderella's Carousel at Walt Disney World.  I fussy cut the banner to go across the top of the layout from Fancy Pants Wishful Thinking collection papers.  A little Glimmer Mist behind the photos and I even found a Carousel charm to use.  I used some Prima Pearls and Prima's Donna Downey Canvas Buttons.  The Webster's Bloomers even got some buttons glued in the middle!  Sorry for the poor photo - my scanner is on the fritz!

From Flamingo Scraps:  Fancy Pants Wishful Thinking patterned papers; Prima say it in pearls bling swirl, flowers and Donna Downey canvas buttons; Websters bloomers in Aqua and Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Other Supplies:  Carosel charm, Martha Stewart loopy punch, buttons from the stash, cardstock

And here's what Amanda did for the Buttons challenge:

I waited until the last day... I was totally lost in search of inspiration!  And then I remembered the topic challenge from the These are a Few of my Favorite Things blog right now... favorite stores!!  (If you haven't seen this topic challenge blog, check it out -- I'm always inspired!! Hi Julie!!)  Of course, I'm on the Target bandwagon.  I created a few quick Target logo masks using an ad we got in the mail, a heart mask I cut freehand, taped them down with temporary adhesive and misted the background.  I then removed my masks and filled my masked heart with some cut outs from the same Target ad.  I added a title, some glittery foam hearts and BUTTONS!!!   Whole layout came together in 30 minutes. 

From Flamingo Scraps: Cherry Metallic Maya Road Mist, Pink Paislee Artisan Alpha

Other supplies: darice foam hearts, black sharpie pen, miscellaneous red buttons, and a Target ad

Only one week left of our challenge!!  We hope you enjoy your weekend!!

Another Prima Sneak Peek!

I just don't know where Prima keeps coming up with ideas for such scrappy goodness!  Check out this Prima blog for the Annalee collection!

Prima Marketing's CHA Summer 2010 Sneak Peek

I really don't have to say anything.........just check out Prima's blog for an amazing CHA Sneak Peek!

Oh and here's the best part.......they're not done yet!  More products to come! 

What do you like?  Is there anything you are just dying to get your glue and scissors on?!

WE ARE SO PROUD OF AMANDA!

Our very own Design Team Member, Amanda Sevall,  has been selected to be a member of the Gone Scrapbooking Creative Team!  Amanda is one of nine people selected to contribute a weekly layout to be published on Examiner.com, a national daily digital news site.  In August 2009, Examiner.com was named as one of the 30 fastest growing news sites in the US!

Amanda tells us that she will be contributing digital layouts (which are every bit as gorgeous as her paper layouts!).  Be sure to bookmark Gone Scrapbooking as well as Amanda's blog to keep up with her year as a contributing Examiner!

Congratulations Amanda!  Gone Scrapbooking and the Examiner are lucky to have you, as is Flamingo Scraps!