Wednesday, May 22, 2013

NSD Winner

Hey! I have a winner for the National Scrapbooking Day give-away, but I cannot find out how to contact you!

Debbie Gregory, you are the lucky winner. Please email me to claim your prize! sharon.laakkonen @ gmail.com (please delete the spaces when you email!)

Winning Comment:

I really enjoyed your show today. I have learned everything from these online classes i past 7 and 1/2 months which is how long Ive been doing this. Have te panpastels and have used them once. Love them but don't really know alot about them and have date stamp Ive never used. This day has been an absolutely TOTAL blast. Prima products and designers ROCK!!
Reply

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Project Life & Prima LOVE!

It's a Project Life and Prima Swap!

 
   PL logo Logo 180px


Becky Higgins has Prima give-aways on her blog so be sure to get on over there and enter to win one of the three accessory packs! And check out Prima's blog for their give-aways!



I was so blessed to create a Project Life album created by the talented Becky Higgins. Becky is one of those really awesome gals in this industry that I have had the pleasure to meet multiple times. She's sweet and genuine, so down to earth and gorgeous to boot! (And her products are WONDERFUL!)

So when this opportunity came up to work with her on a Prima exchange I was super excited! I got to work with the Olive Edition, which I dressed up with a little Prima, to showcase my memories on becoming a Nana to my sweet granddaughter, Amariah.

Olivebook Olivecards

The color palette for this set is amazing! It has bold touches, feminine touches, and modern trendy touches all mixed beautifully together.

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The cover is just begging to be altered! I added a few core cards and then decorated it with sweet flowers, crystals and a fluttering butterfly.

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These flowers are some of my new faves! Look at that gorgeous beaded center! It's almost as beautiful as the memories tucked inside.


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If a scrapbook page could express emotion this one would be overloaded with joyful tears and a heart swollen with love for this precious little grand-baby that we have been blessed with.  Our daughter, Bethany, and her hubby, Jon, seriously gave us the best gift ever!


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Amariah Grace. Her name is so beautiful. We had the name "Amariah" picked out for our last few boys (just in case they were girls!) So we were overjoyed when Jon and Bethany decided they loved that name.

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Isn't she the sweetest little bundle?  I know having a newborn can be difficult (been there, done that. A FEW times!) but as a Nana it was a totally different experience.

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 I truly get to enjoy the best parts of this beautiful new life!

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My last page for this features shows a few more shots of Amariah at different stages, including one of Amariah, her momma-Bethany, and me all together on vacation! I am so glad they live close enough for us to see each other several times a week. I love being a part of Amariah's life...love watching her grow and experience new things. And I love spoiling her. haha.


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This album is REALLY big. I am hoping I get to fill it up with LOTS of grandkids' photos. With seven kids of my own I think there might be a good chance of that!



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Pssst...did I mention we have grandbaby #2 on the way? Amariah will be a big sister in just a few weeks! I am SUPER excited to have another little grandbaby to snuggle with!



Sharon's Supplies:

1. Project Life Supplies:
  • Olive Core Kit
  • Olive Album/Binder
  • Photo Pocket Pages (big variety pack 1)
2. Prima Supplies:
  • 567064 Akran Taj Blue Flowers
  • 567118 Joulee Leaves
  • 565268 Divine Flowers
  • 565305 Divine Butterflies
  • 565466 Lady Bird Grey Daisy
  • 565473 Lady Bird Roses
  • 562915 Divine Small Grey Alphas
  • 563264 Divine Tiny Alphas
  • 562861 Hello Pastel Large Grey Alphas
  • 563295 Hello Pastel Tiny Alphabets
  • 564865 Divine Washi Tape
  • 563882 Wood Leaves
  • 563455 Divine Newsprint Frames
  • 563974 Lady Bird SIIC
  • 563950 Fairy Rhymes SIIC
  • Other: doilies, twine, chevron bag, Fiskars hole punch, Fabri-Tac, ribbon

So how many of you do Project life? Are you enjoying it? Do you dress up your pages? I'd love to hear your thoughts so post some tips for me (as a PL newbie!) PLEASE!!!!


Saturday, May 4, 2013

(inter)National Scrapbooking Day!

 

Today is National Scrapbooking Day in the states and Prima is having an AMAZING blog hop! So if you are working your way down their list, welcome! You are at the right place! (Make sure you scroll all the way down for the blog list and a GIVE-AWAY!)



Prima also has a wonderful line-up of LIVE classes, including my layout class shown here at 9 AM eastern time!













Here is a direct link to the Prima ustream channel. Hop on over and watch a class or two today. The classes go ALL day long. There will be prizes and lots of fun to be had on the chats.

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The layouts shown above don't have a lot of my normal feminine touches. And that's cool. Since I have a few older boys I thought I would play around with some of our newest metals, stencils, gesso, stamps, and so on. (My boys REALLY appreciate me NOT adding flowers to their layouts. Imagine that!)



I love the cleaner graphic & bright effect on this layout of Billy using Lady Bird.  It totally fits his personality and his photo!

























You can achieve this bright look with PanPastels and a stencil! (Use a neutral backdrop paper like this one in the Lady Bird line so your attention is on the photo and techniques.)














Just set the stencil on the paper (I use washi tape on the sides to help secure it to the paper. When you are done coloring you can pull it up easily and it will not tear your paper.)

Start with the lightest color of PanPastel first, then work your way through to the darkest color.

(Just make sure you seal it once you are happy with the colors. I use SpectraFix which is safe to spray inside and has no nasty fumes.)







Next add a photo mat with foam squares, chipboard shapes, stickers and crystals. Add the photo with foam adhesive to pop it up off the page a bit.


Staple some twine to the page with a Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher to mimic the chevron pattern for a nice GUY touch.





Create a banner flag with our stickers (and a toothpick!) and tuck it under the photo.

Stamp all your important dates and sayings on the stickers with these cool roller stamps by Smash and Dear Lizzy! I use them ALL the time.



 That's it!


My other layout is about my 16 year old,  Brayden. It definitely has a different look than the first layout.  You can see the whole layout created in my class so check it out! (All shows are recorded in case you cannot catch them live.)

























Prima Supplies
  • 922375, 922351 DD Art Stencil
  • 891671, 891633 Tiny Junkyard Findings
  • 562861, 562908 Alphas
  • 890995, 891003, 891015 Comfort Craft Chalk Fluid Edgers
  • 960353, 960261 Mechanicals by Finnabair
  • 960124 Clear Stamp- Sunrise, Sunset
  • 564377 Washi Tape Stamp
  • 563042 Clear Stamp-Engraver
  • 564896 Lifetime Washi Tape
Other:
  • Fiskars Star Punch
  • Ranger Studio Gesso
  • Ranger Archival Black & Brown Ink
  • shipping tag
  • orange twine
  • Color Shine: BlackVelvet
  • Glimmer Mist: Dark Denim
  • Fabri-Tac by Beacon
Here's the video!



Video streaming by Ustream


So what do you think? Ready to try a few of these techniques on your next project? Leave me a comment and I will pick one person to win this fabulous prize on May 13th. Open to all countries.



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Here is the list for the blog hop!

Prima Blog
Sharon Laakkonen (You are here!)

Cari Fennell
Jamie Dougherty 
Frank Garcia 
Nic Howard
Janine Koczwara  
Heidi Kelley 
Brit Sviggum
Trina McClune 
Gerry van Gent
Lene Bjornerud 
Magda Bolinska  
Anna Dabrowska
Maiko Kosugi  
Felicity Wilson  
Larissa Albernaz 
Marie-Nicolas Alliot 
Louise Nelson  
Juliana Montoya  
Steph Devlin
Stephanie Miller
Solange Marques
Lea Lawson