Here's a look at what you'll be seeing in the Design Team section July 1st!  We love what the girls have up their sleeves!  If you haven't seen them already, check out this month's Milestone-themed projects here.

It's no secret that I love creating handmade cards.  No matter what the occasion or sentiment, a card made by hand conveys the underlying message to the recipient that they are cared for.  I especially love creating cards to celebrate the milestones in people's lives.

Here are some cards that I've created to celebrate some of my loved ones' big days, along with some tips on customizing cards for all of the milestones in your life.

1. Birthdays

Nautical 40th Birthday Card

This is a card I created recently as part of my Trendy Trios card making video series.  It's easy to customize birthday cards with alphabet/number stickers or stamps.  You can even make birthday cards in advance to have on hand, leaving a blank space for the recipient's age until you're ready to use it.

2. Weddings

Going To the Chapel Card

Wedding cards are some of my favorite cards to make!  If you know the couple's wedding colors, create a custom card to coordinate!  For this card, I used plain veneer icons & dressed them up to create a bride & groom.

3. Babies

Welcome Baby Card

New babies always give me an excuse to pull out all of those sweet papers & embellishments in my stash.  You can create with the traditional blue or pink hues or mix it up for a little added interest.  I wanted to keep this card neutral enough for it to work for either gender.

4. New Home

Home Is Where You Are Card

This card is from my Journey Into Card Making Workshop.  Send a heartfelt greeting to a friend who's moved into their new home.  Change the sentiment up a bit to say "Welcome to the neighborhood!" to greet a new neighbor.  Bring along a plate of freshly baked cookies with a coordinating tag for an added surprise.

5. Graduation

Let's Celebrate Card

Don't forget to use your photos!  There's nothing more customized than including a photo of your recipient on the front of their card.  With all of the fun photo frame embellishments, stamps & dies found in the Two Peas store, adding photos to your cards has never been easier!  You can find more ways to use photo frames on your cards here.

I hope you're inspired to create a handmade card to celebrate the milestones in others lives this year.  Be sure to upload your cards in the gallery for everyone to see!   - Julie

This week 1) If you haven't already, check out June's edition of Trendy Trios; Julie plays with the nautical theme in 3 different cards! 2) Céline prompts you with five new challenges, including splitting a photo collage in half. 3) Kristina is inspired by mint, navy and stars. 4) Glitter Girl takes on the challenge of scrapbooking night shots. 5) Paige reaches for the 6x6 paper pads in her stash and uses a rolled paper technique. 6) Lisa plays with pre-made die cuts on a layout and card. and 7) Marcy reminds us it's okay if some Project Life spreads don't come together as easily as others. 

Today's edition of Get the Look is inspired by Two Peas member a2kate and her page "You."  We love its golden Summer yellows and repetition of circles.  The column of embellishments on the side balances that gorgous photo!  Here's how one might achieve a2kate's look:

Milestone Labels Freebies

Project Cards Freebies

We can hardly believe we're nearly halfway through June. Have you downloaded this month's freebies yet?  You'll want to scoop them up, as well as purchase any of the other kits this month that catch your eye.  The freebies as well, as those marked 'June only,' will retire at the end of the month! 

Washi tape has the versatility of patterned paper and can be used in very similar ways, and yet its functionality as tape and transparent quality makes it an especailly fun supply to use!  Here are 10 interesting ways we've seen our members use this popular product:

By lisafisa

USE IT TO ATTACH SOMETHING. The diagonal orientation of the tape here reminds us of a bulletin board look or an idea saved in a Smash book.  There's no need to add adhesive if you don't wish; the tape does the work for you.

By stacitaylor

Washi tape is used to attach this scalloped fabric piece; the edges hang off the page adding a nice sense of depth.

By missy whidden

CREATE A MOOD. A green polka dot or black chevron tape might not scream Christmas to you, but Missy has paired them with red patterned paper to create a festive feel.  By combining the washi with paper and stamping she has created a whole range of texture on her page.

By michelle hernandez

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ITS TRANSPARENT QUALITY.  One shade of washi tape can create different looks!  Layer pieces or sections on top of each other to create darker patches. Michelle has even layered other designs behind the pink to mute them a bit.  Cool!

By whimsicalnature

LOOP & LAYER IT.  What an eye-catching design!  We love how this member has challenged herself to use her tape stash; check out more fun ways she's used washi from her profile here.

By auntieklm

CREATE A PATCHWORK FRAME.  We love the quilt-like look of this page.  A great way to give your project a homespun feel!

By lydiaink

DIVIDE UP YOUR PAGE.  Lydia has used the most simplest of design elements, the line, in an effective and clever way!  Washi tape serves as dividers for a pie chart, while serving also to give a small dose of extra pattern.

By Melinda Spinks

STITCH OVER IT.  The thinness of our favorite masking tape makes stitching through it a piece of cake.

Project Life lesson by Lisa Truesdell

MAKE A HINGE.  Lisa Truesdell uses washi tape to make a hinge for a tag; beneath a tag there is memorabilia and hidden journaling.  This gives her the ability to squeeze more in on a Project Life spread!

By adogslife13

HAVE FUN WITH IT!  This layout just looks like it was a blast to create, don't you think?  She's not only had fun with different patterns and colors by alternating the styles that come in a washi tape set (a great place to start!), but she's stamped on top of the tape, placed stickers and enamel dots on top all the while balancing her group of photos on the left.

What do you think? How will you use washi tape next?  Browse our selection here while our embellishment sale is still happening!

We asked the Garden Girls to describe what products they're drawn to when selecting items perfect for their scrap style. We'll be sharing what they had to say once a week or so on the blog, starting with Amy Tan!  Here's a look at how Amy puts her favorites to work:

Love Amy's style?  Try the following for yourself: mix alphabets in your titles, cluster layers of embellishments around a stacked photo mat, have fun with hand-stitching and reach for bright colors.  Browse some of Amy's favorites here!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7

If you like the romance of a summer day at the fair and enjoy the intricacies of circus-inspired typography, you'll love the Find Your Wings and Fly collection by Rhonna Farrer for My Minds Eye.  Here's a look at this colorful and whimsical line:

Happy Tuesday, friends!  And in case you missed the announcement, check out our Spring Embellishment Sale!

Milestones. They are why most of us started scrapbooking. Important events and dates that we don't want to forget. Of course now that we've been scrapping for a while we start adding in the fluff, the daily life....but milestones are still the basis for most of our scrapbooks. You might not think that you scrapbook many milestones, but I bet if you start turning the pages in your books you'll realize you do. That's what I love about scrapbooking, you capture life, make it pretty, and have that memory frozen in time....even when your mind forgets. 

Here are a few layouts I found of mine that are different milestones in our lives...

High School Reunions

Back to School

Different Ages

Anniversaries

Birthdays

and here's my most recent layout for the Milestones Theme....First Cut & Mani....

One of my favorite ways to capture reoccuring milestones is to make an album of them. Each year you can add a page...or work backwards and dig out those older photographs. The extra time is worth it! I want to share a couple albums I've made that are featured in my Sassy Scrapping Workshop. The first one is a 'Through the Years' album of my husband and I. 

Instead of spending hours on the computer going through CD's to have older pictures printed I looked through my scrapbooks and snapped pictures of pictures with my phone. I edited the photos in Instagram, and had them printed. That way they all had a similar look even though the pictures span 15 years.

To see the rest of the album as well as 4 additional chapters check out Sassy Scrapping!

The second peek into Sassy Scrapping I want to share is a look at the School Memorabilia Album I designed. The idea is to create an album that caputres each year, the picture, the grades, the awards, the art, the work. But, not all of it. Only the most important and special. 

I used different sized page protectors and inserted my favorite work/art from each year.

Those school photos that you don't know what to do with...

To see the whole album as well as the video that explains my complete thought process check out Sassy Scrapping! 

Happy Scrapping!

This week 1) Corrie Jones provides four more challenges to add to our 213 creative prompts list 2) Janna looks to art to inspire her page 3) Glitter Girl shares the final installment in her mini wedding series & provides a special Q&A feature 4) Jill Sprott creates a his + hers page while equiping you with ideas for designing with journaling cards 5) Laura Craigie pulls in metallic on a layout and card and 6) Melissa Stinson shares tips for squeezing in extra photos in a project life spread