Hi all! This week I needed to make a card for a crafty party that I'm planning with my sister. There will be about ten people there and I wanted to create a card that everyone could make at the party. I thought this would be a great opportunity to share some tips on making mass producible cards. 

Use small amounts of patterned paper. Combine them to create larger patterned paper areas. 
Consider using stamps and ink for texture and the card sentiment. It is an economical way to stretch supplies because the only consumable supply is the cardstock, and you can use the stamp over and over. 
Instead of stickers or items that do not come in multiples, try using punches to create interest. 

For my card, I use Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe 6x6 paper pad and the Sentiments stamp set form Penny Black. Enjoy! 

CHALLENGE 
Create a mass producible card. Upload it to the TwoPeas Gallery and select this week's Finally Friday challenge.

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Congrats to meaganalexander, the winner of last week's color combo challenge.  A credit to your Two Peas account will be applied to your account shortly for your next shopping trip here at Two Peas!

Be sure to check out this week's challenge to use hand-stitching on your project!

Congrats to Treezy, the winner of last week's photo challenge "Night Shots."  A credit to your Two Peas account will be applied to your account shortly for your next shopping trip here at Two Peas!

Be sure to check out this week's challenge, "The Elements" from Garden Girl Caroline Ikeji for your chance to win!

A new lesson has been added to our free, monthly class Stretch Your Sketch with Jen Gallacher.  This month focuses on a double-page spread.

Check out this month's lesson, including a video and printable instruction sheet, and all of the class content from the class page here!

For this week's Finally Friday card, I thought I would make a masculine congrats card. And the perfect patterned paper for the job was the Social Club Crafting Kit from Cosmo Cricket. :) 

I kept it super simple with mainly patterned paper and a few stickers. Using stickers and chipboard letters is another way to create the sentiment for the card when you don't already have a stamp with the sentiment you'd like. Super easy and you can create a card for every occasion. 

CHALLENGE 
Create a masculine card. Upload it to the TwoPeas galley and selected this week's Finally Friday card. 

Enjoy! 

SUPPLIES 
Solid Card Stock: Kraft Notecard (Memory Box); Really Rust
Patterned Paper: Social Club Crafting Kit (Cosmo Cricket)
Black letter stickers: Reverse Black Letter Stickers (Jenni Bowlin) 
Chipboard letters: Dark Chocolate Piper Micro Chip ABCs (BasicGrey) 
Cream Letter Stickers: Manila Basics Micro Mono Stickers (BasicGrey)
White Pen: Signo Broad (Uni-Ball)

Watch video below | Watch at YouTube | See Related Products

Congrats to sarahcali, the winner of last week's challenge to scrap the sport and/or school photos.  A credit to your Two Peas account will be applied to your account shortly for your next shopping trip here at Two Peas!

Be sure to check out this week's challenge with Stacey to use black + the color of your choice!

For this week's layout I wanted to show how to create a one-of-a-kind stamped embellishment colored in with Copic Markers for a scrapbook layout. 

Copics + stamping are super popular in cardmaking and I want to show how you can use these markers on scrapbook layouts as well. 

For the flower, I first stamped the image on smooth white cardstock (make sure the cardstock you're using is preferred for Copic coloring) using Memento Ink. Then I stamped the Hero Arts Ledger background stamp over the entire thing to give it a more "natural" look instead of a stamped image on plain white paper. This makes it look more like an image cut from a floral patterned paper, etc. I colored the image in with Copics and then used a Coluzzle to cut it in a circle shape before mounting on additional patterned paper circle and sewing to my layout. 

The photos are 4x6 & 3x4. 

Colorful layers, stamping and embellishments complete the layout. I used Ali Edwards stamps to create a colorful word border, add the date and to highlight words in my journaling. 

CHALLENGE: Color in a stamped image for your next layout. Consider using colored pencils, markers, chalks, inks, paint, watercolors, copics, etc. 
*This challenge runs from May 18, 2011 - May 25, 2011.* 

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Congrats to tiffanyravenbaby2002, the winner of last week's photo challenge "Action."  A credit to your Two Peas account will be applied to your account shortly for your next shopping trip here at Two Peas!

Be sure to check out this week's challenge, "Night Shots" with Shimelle for your chance to win.

For this week's card, I decided to create a small birthday card using the Birthday Numbers stamp set from My Cute Stamps, and the Life of the Party Lime Twist 6x6 paper pad from My Mind's Eye. 

I wanted to color the cake stamp using Copic markers and thankfully I had colors similar to the colors in the patterned paper. I'm still not good at blending multiple marker colors together, so I went with my fool-proof method of using the same marker but simply applying more ink to areas that I want to be darker. 

I also used the Copic Colorless Blender to "repel" ink and create dots in the dark red color. It's an easy way to add interest to a large flat area. :) 

Anyhow, enjoy! 

CHALLENGE: Create a birthday card. Upload your card to the TwoPeas gallery and select this week's Finally Friday challenge. 

Watch on YouTube | See Related Products

Congrats to rkokes, the winner of last week's challenge to use older product.  A credit to your Two Peas account will be applied to your account shortly for your next shopping trip here at Two Peas!

Be sure to check out this week's challenge from Shannon Tidwell to use a team or school photo!

We're digging up archives so that finding the past class events and series that inspire you is easier than ever!  Find these archives and others in either the Free Monthly Classes section or Events section.

In this series, Laura Kurz guides you through each step in documenting one's wedding day.  She'll help you gather and prepare for your project, give you sketches, prompt you with journaling questions and more!  Each lesson gives you a printable instruction sheet, a free download, and samples.  More importantly, with her simple style and you-can-do-it approach, Laura makes completing a wedding album doable when it can sometimes feel like a daunting project.  Enjoy!

For this week's From Start to Finish layout, I wanted to showcase a border of 2x3" photos with 12" strips of patterned paper. 

Because I didn't have any 12" photo paper on hand, I decided to improvise and piece together two sections of 2x3" photos. Where they meet is barely noticeable and it's a great way to "make do" with what you have! 

I ended up having more than six 2x3" photos, so I printed a couple of extras and trimmed them, leaving a white border. 

I wanted to focus on the It's in the Details April Studio AE stamp set that's in the 2Peas store now. I've used pieces from the April stamp set HERE [twopeasinabucket.com] and HERE[twopeasinabucket.com] and I wanted to show yet again just how versatile it is. I absolutely love the phrases in this set and how the pieces mix and match to create the perfect accents/titles/embellishments for your pages. 

In addition to It's in the Details Stamp Set I also incorporated some of the Awesome Days of Summer Stamp Set to really tie everything together. 

Colorful stamping using an array of stamp inks gives the stamping that finished look that exactly matches the rest of my page. I used Jenni Bowlin Cough Syrup & Chicken Feed and Stampin' Up Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze and Crushed Curry inks. 

CHALLENGE: Create a summer themed layout this week! 

From Start to Finish Series Challenges are weekly. This challenge goes until May 18, 2011. 

Thanks for looking! 

Watch video on YouTube | See Related Products 

Congrats to keelyyowler, the winner of last week's photo challenge "Action."  A credit to your Two Peas account will be applied to your account shortly for your next shopping trip here at Two Peas!

Be sure to check out this week's challenge, "Back to the Future" with Kristina for your chance to win.

Hello Peas! I hope you're still having a lovely weekend!

My challenge to you is to build an embellishment out of bits and pieces!  It's one of my favourite things about scrapbooking - how we can take all sorts of little things and build them up into something pretty.  To make embellishments like this, I like to look for a variety of elements:
*printed or stamped transparency
*patterned paper
*tulle, net or otherwise see-through fabric
*labels and stickers
*bits of fabric or ribbon
*punched shapes
*flowers and gems

I gather all those different pieces and stack them up from biggest to smallest, leaving off the very top layer (like the fabric flower with the beads in this example).  Then I sew through the stack to hold it all together, and messy stitching is a bonus!  I add the final pieces with glue dots and then add the embellishment to the page.  In this case, I used it to create my title too.

That's how I made my bits & pieces embellishment, but you can make yours any way you like!  Put your scraps and offcuts to work and make something beautiful with punches or sewing or layering!

To participate in this challenge: Create a layout or card, in which you create an embellishment from bits and pieces.  Challenges must be uploaded into the gallery by Sunday, May 15th at midnight CST. Make sure to check the correct challenge box when uploading your project. One winner will be selected to win a fabulous prize sponsored by Two Peas in a Bucket (make sure your contact information is updated)!

Happy scrapbooking!!

Love and glitter,
Shimelle

Hi everyone!!!  My challenge to you on this NSD is to grab your pens!!!  I want to see your handwriting!!  Use your handwriting for your journaling on your layout.  

To participate in this challenge: Create a layout or card, in which you your handwriting on the item.  Challenges must be uploaded into the gallery by Sunday, May 15th at midnight CST. Make sure to check the correct challenge box when uploading your project. One winner will be selected to win a fabulous prize sponsored by Two Peas in a Bucket (make sure your contact information is updated)!

Happy National Scrapbook day Peas!!

I want to challenge you all to create a project that incorporates stars in the design somewhere.

As a mom of only boys I tend to be drawn to stars, it’s kind of the icon for boy things as opposed to the heart or flower for girls.  Don’t get me wrong I still use hearts and flowers on my boy things too, I just loooove stars! :)

Here is a page I did recently:

I’ve also searched the gallery for some examples, and here they are.

This page by tenmylove is just awesome, I love the stars in the grids

This card by ltlea23 is so incredible just love the stamping!!

This card by ShannaVineyard is awesome too.

To participate in this challenge: Create a layout or card, in which you use stars somewhere on the item.  Challenges must be uploaded into the gallery by Sunday, May 15th at midnight CST. Make sure to check the correct challenge box when uploading your project. One winner will be selected to win a fabulous prize sponsored by Two Peas in a Bucket (make sure your contact information is updated)!

Hello Peas! I hope that you are having an awesome NSD weekend so far! My challenge to you is to use the following sketch/template to create a layout. It can be used exactly the way that it is or you can alter it....rotate, resize...just have fun with it!

For paper scrappers, here's the sketch...

and for digital scrappers, here's the download for the free template....

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/jen-martakis/102408-digikit-simple-starts-no-17/?filters=digital-kits%2Ftemplate-kits%2Fjen-martakis

and here is some inspiration for you...

I can't wait to see what you do with it! :)

Hi all! Mother's Day (in the US) is just a couple days away. Time to make those Mother's Day cards! 

For my card, I used patterned paper from American Crafts' Peachy Keen collection and a stamp from Ali Edwards and Technique Tuesday. The sentiment on the stamp was the perfect message for a Mother's Day card. :) 

CHALLENGE: Create a feminine card--for Mother's day or any other occasion. Upload your card to the gallery and select this week's Finally Friday challenge. 

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Congrats to angelstarr, the winner of last week's challenge to draw inspiration outside of the scrapbooking world.  A credit to your Two Peas account will be applied to your account shortly for your next shopping trip here at Two Peas!

Be sure to check out this week's challenge to use older product from Jen Martakis!

Happy Friday Peas and welcome to NSD Weekend!

My challenge for you is to stamp on your next layout.

One of my very favorite things to do is stamp on my layouts and I almost always stamp at least one thing on almost every page I make.

Here is my recent layout for my monthly May 2011 class, Scrapbook Stamping that showcases a stamped border features stamps from Ali Edwards, Studio Calico and October Afternoon:

Here are some other samples I found in the gallery that showcase great stamping on scrapbook layouts:

Ali Edwards used stamped words on the top portion of her page to not only tell the story but as a fabulous decorative element.

Daniela Dobson used a ruler stamp to create the cool distressed borders in the upper right corner and under her photo and also stamped her title using colorful inks that compliment her photos.

Razberry stamped a sweet phrase in soft pastel inks that compliment the photos and mood of her page and add a lovely decorative element.

To participate in this challenge: Create a layout, in which you use stamping somewhere on the page. Layouts can be any size. Challenges must be uploaded into the gallery by Sunday, May 15th at midnight CST. Make sure to check the correct challenge box when uploading your project. One winner will be selected to win a fabulous prize sponsored by Two Peas in a Bucket (make sure your contact information is updated)!

I'm looking forward to seeing your layouts!

Your third starter challenge for the weekend is to scraplift a Garden Girl!  There are a number of styles within our team.

Do you enjoy pulling bits and pieces together to make up the composition of a layout?  So do Caroline, Jamie, Lisa and Nicole!

Do you like to keep your design simple, with a lot of artistic touches?   Check out the galleries of Margie, Jen, Stacey and Chelsea:

Do you love to play with product, and find the most fun in creating scrapbook pages is the embellishing?  You will probably enjoy these layouts from Shannon, Jen, Shimelle and Rebecca:

If you like linear design with graphic touches and a lot of detail, you'll enjoy the galleries of Nancy, Nichol, Jen, Kandis and Kristina:

Is cardmaking your thing?  Don't miss the galleries of Julie, Kristina and Laura:

Ready to scraplift?  Go get started!  Don't forget to tell us who you scraplifted and check the challenge checkbox; you have through the 15th to complete the challenge.  There will be a drawing and the winner announced on the NSD board Monday, the 16th.  Have fun and good luck!

For this next challenge your assignment is to include a question and answer in your layout!  It could be a single question and response, or you could include a whole interview.  Journal from your own perspective, or get someone to play along!  Questions and answer format journaling can sometimes be the best angle for telling the story of your life right now.

Here are a few examples from the gallery:

            Klcards hears the same question from her daughter often, "Can you buy me a new outfit?"  What questions do you hear on a regular basis?  Use those questions for the theme of a page!  A bonus to this challenge?  All the Q's in your alphabet stash may just have their own shining moments when they finally get used! :)

            Interview-style pages are always a favorite to look at years later:

            Alexandra s.m. explores the possibilities in the question, "What if?"

            Many of us have filled in the blank, "Wouldn't it be great if I had this superpower..." at one point or another in our lives.  SimplyAmanda lets that idea take center stage in this page about her son.

            Why not fill a mini book with questions and answers?

            The journaling in this layout was prompted when Tracy107 asked, "What do you want people to know about you?"

            Okay, you're next! Include questions and answers in your next project.  Don't forget to check the challenge checkbox; you have through the 15th to complete the challenge.  There will be a drawing and the winner announced on the NSD board Monday, the 16th.  Have fun and good luck!

Welcome to our National Scrapbook Day All Weekend Crop!  Our first starter challenge for this weekend is to give your paper a work-out.  How?  By folding it!  Here are a few examples we found in the gallery to get your creative juices going:

            Lisa Toronto created a subtle but interesting border when she folded punched circles for this page documenting past Facebook statuses:

            Jbarksdale dressed up the corner of her page by folding punched flowers over a string of twine.  How fun that the "swinging" embellishment reinforces her backyard swing theme!

            Kelli Crowe drove home the story of her sons being "folded up" in the backseat when she created a custom title for her page.

            Low on embellishments?  Create your own medallions like Kandis or border strips like Shannon:

            You could also use this challenge to make an interesting fold in a card like Pea-Licious or Avital:

Now it's your turn!  Include folded paper in your next project.  Don't forget to check the challenge checkbox; you have through the 15th to complete the challenge.  There will be a drawing and the winner announced on the NSD board Monday, the 16th.  Have fun and good luck!

By creating a From Start to Finish video & layout each week, you start to see a pattern of what I am working on, what I am finishing up. I shared THIS [twopeasinabucket.com] layout 2 weeks ago and mentioned that I would need to do another 2-page layout to finish up the Christmas card photos from 2010. I wanted to get this finished, off my desk and put away in its album on the shelf in our family room so that's just what I did. 

For this page, I shopped my scrapbook "stash" and picked some products that although they aren't "old" per se, most aren't "new". Don't be afraid to shop your supplies and use what you have on hand. :) 

Because these layouts tend to be photo and/or journaling heavy, I try to limit the amount of embellishments and stick to mainly patterned paper layers and simple touches that create an interesting yet simple page. 

The ornament patterned paper strips serve as a bit of embellishment on this page, almost as if they are "hanging" from the bottom row of photos. Simple stamping, a couple of stickers and a few brads/clip complete the embellishment process. 

CHALLENGE: Use some older product from your "stash" to create a layout this week! 

From Start to Finish Series Challenges are weekly. This challenge goes until May 11, 2011. 

Thanks for looking! 

Watch video on YouTube | See Related Products

Congrats to hokiecoyote, the winner of last week's photo challenge "Metallics."  A credit to your Two Peas account will be applied to your account shortly for your next shopping trip here at Two Peas!

Be sure to check out this week's challenge, "Action" with Shannon Tidwell for your chance to win.