The list....

It's been an amazing month having Stacey Michaud with us.... she has been a joy to work with and wow, what a scrapbook talent. When I asked Stacey to be one of our guest designers this month, I knew I loved her layouts... what I didn't know was that Stacey makes super cool projects too. The first one "the list" has the cutest story. I'll let her tell you!

"There is a funny story here. My two kiddos are constantly calling out, "Can I have this ____ (toy)?" and my husband and I tell them to put it on their list. So I made them one! The inside has a place where they can write their items down." This is such a cute idea Stacey, and wow, what an adorable project!





"I loved the little scissors and 25 cents on the Sassafras Lass paper and thought...oh, a coupon envelope! The box is a place to put coupons or flier clippings that I don't immediately need. I simply cut the vintage items and then did some layering of them." What a super cool idea. Stacey also used Cosmo Cricket chipboard alphas and Jillibean Soup twine.



Big thanks to Stacey Michaud for all of her wonderful inspiration this month. Since I'm sure that you'll want to check out her blog for even more cool project ideas, here is a link. Thanks SO much Stacey!

Be sure to check back Saturday, for our brand new May contest sketch AND a peekie at our May guest designers. :) Have a great day!

~ Dana

Family time...

Yep, a family trip to the baseball game.



This layout was fun to make and easy too. I let the paper do the work... I LOVED using the Fancy Pants My Family line for this layout. I used several of the papers, including SON, the back of UNCLE, and both sides of DAUGHTER. Notice how I used the lighter part of this paper under the title. I cut out the swirl and lighter section, which made the perfect surface are for my Jillibean Soup corrugated letters. These were so fun to use. I also used the Fancy Pants CARDS paper, love the quotes! Notice those Cosmo Cricket tiny type letters too, they match perfectly.

Hey, have you checked out our brand new Message Board????? Love having my scrappy family back online. Pop over and sign up when you can!

Oh, and there is lots of awesome new products in the store. :) October Afternoon , WeRMemory Keepers, Doodlebug and My Little Yellow Bicycle.... love new scrappy supplies!

Have a great week! Check back later this week for 2 adorable projects from Stacey Michaud. Thanks for stopping by.

~ Dana

Some Bunny Loves You!

Our family has a couple of new editions - they come with floppy ears and twitchy noses!

My DD bunny is the cutest - he is just so laid back and adorable.  This photo was taken on the first day he came home.  I thought I would make a wall hanging for Lauren's room so she could see  him when she wakes up.

Bo Bunny's Sophie collection has such pretty colours which compliments so many colour schemes.  I hand cut flowers from Sophie's Boquet paper and teamed them with a stamped flourish and these fabulous silk flowers. 

To add a little oomph, I sugared the centres (snow writer and glitter) before adding the gorgeous pearl brad (Kaiser Craft) and tiny rhinestones.

The hanger is the string of pearls also found in Kaiser Craft's Devonshire embellishment pack. The sentiment is hand written and cut out in the shape of a banner.

I notice that Cathy has the latest collections in from October Afternoon and Doodlebug which I have my eye on.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Be sure to pop back in as soon as possible for more lovely inspiration.

Morag x

at the beach...

Not quite warm enough for the beach right now... BUT, don't these photos make you want to head right out into the waves?? I really love the way the pictures are always the focal point of Stacey Michaud's layouts. Her design work really draws your eye in... that's an amazing talent.





Here's what Stacey had to say about her layout...
"I love how Sassafras has all these neat little perks like frames and borders right within the paper. I cut the inside of the frame right off of the paper and then laid it down on a second sheet...allows for more dimension. The navy border along the bottom of the photo mat reminds me of a nautical theme so it was a perfect touch!" Stacey used lots of cool Sassafras Lass products for her layout. These fun letter stickers and here is where she found that awesome border.

Need some more inspiration?? Check out Stacey's blog... there's lots of inspriation there! Thanks so much to Stacey, loving all of your projects this month!

Check back soon, as Morag is sure to have another amazing project for us. Have a great day!

~ Dana

A little Monkey Business??

So, it's been a while, but YES, I am scrapping. :) These pictures from our school playground really show Marissa's personality, I just love her smile. This paper is super fun too, Imaginisce's Lucy Bird Line. I love that it's double sided, and has some large and small scale patterns. The puffy stickers are super cute too!



I am a cheapie when it comes to using my big pieces of chipboard, so I used the big scalloped circle chipboard that I've had it my stash forever, as a template. I put it on top of the patterned paper on a glass mat, and used my exacto knife to cut around it. Love this big green circle, it's a piece of the WeRMemory Keepers paper, from their Easter line. I did some handcutting too, aren't those little butterflies CUTE! :)

Hey, have you checked out our new message board? Hop on over, we'd love some new friends. Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day!

~ Dana

Home is Where the Heart is

October Afternoon has always been one of my favourite manufacturers - I love their pretty colour combinations and clean lines.

I came across this fabulous display box in the shape of a house and just had to have it!  The fresh Ducks in a Row papers and accessories will bring Spring into any home.  I wanted to display a favourite photograph as well as add some cute embellishments which could be changed at a future date.  The HOME letters were mounted onto card and secured to a 'card stand'.

I top the house off with a little tag which has been embellished using the rub-ons from the collection including those tiny little stitches!  A neat polka dot ribbon from Maya Road finishes it all off nicely.

Every home needs a pair of love birds - mine are made from Fimo which have been sparkled with glitter.  I will be adding more trinkets when I find them.

Bird cages are all the rage and Maya Road's bird cage is fastened to the side of the house dangling from a pretty length of pearls (Kaiser Crafts).  More polka dot ribbon adorns the dividers.

I always love bunting - especially the tiny sort.  I cut out tiny triangles from the various papers (which are all double-sided) and glued them to some baker's twine.  This is then draped along the house and secured with glue-dots.

I couldn't resist cutting out these birdies and flowers from Imaginisce Lucy Bird paper.  I stole the clouds from My Little Shoebox.

Thanks for popping in.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Morag x

Some AllyScraps news!!

Guess what?? We're back! AllyScraps has a brand new message board, all we're missing is YOU! We hope you'll pop over and say hello.

Thanks so much for all of the awesome entries in our April SKETCH contest. We have a winner.... a huge congratulations to Andrea Slee! Here is her super cool layout, we just loved her photo placement and all of the fun hand stitching. Way to go Andrea.



Andrea will be receiving this fabulous prize.



Keep your eyes open for out next sketch contest. Debbie's working on a brand new single photo sketch for May. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

We're super excited to have another awesome layout from our guest designer Stacey Michaud. I just love her streamlined style, and the way she used the Sassafras Lass borders on this layout. It's SO much fun.



Stacey told me that she loved using the Cherry Delicious line by Sassafras Lass! She used the papers and the fun stickers. She also used the glitter alphabet...these just rock as they are the perfect size. She combined those products with Jillibean Soup twine , Cosmo Cricket Ready Set Chip alphabet and Material Girl Buttons.

Hey, Cathy has put up lots of new stuff in the store, take a look at all of the fun new scrapbook supplies that are available.

GCD Homespun Chic
October Afternoon paper pads
Lily Bee Hello Sunshine

Hope you have a terrific day. Morag will be back at the end of the week, and believe it or not... I have a layout to post too! :)

~ Dana

Are you a "Material Girl"? Check out this gift card set!

Linda Albrecht brings us this amazing card collection, for all of us girls!! Here is what she has to say about it...

"I thought that this would be a great gift for someone who likes to sew
and appreciates giving handmade cards to others. The container was
covered with Cosmo Cricket "Material Girl" paper and a bit of "Fast
Lane" to trim out the edge of the top piece. I made the cards simple
and homespun to pick up the scissors and thread images in the Cosmo
Cricket "Material Girl" paper. Rather than using a lot of ribbon or
lace trims, I made my own by cutting the papers with a zig zag edged
scissors and by cutting white cardstock into strips that were edged with
a small scallop to resemble eyelet trim. Adding "holes" to the
scalloped edge strips by inserting a large darning needle into the paper
also helps to mimic the effect. A few hand stitches, buttons, and some
machine sewing completes the look for the homespun note and gift cards."





Love that Linda put all of the gorgeous cards in this lovely little suitcase. It's adorable. :)



Here is the card collection. Linda incorporated paper, embellishments and stamps, and WOW, what a variety of cards she came up with.





Linda also used papers from WeRMemory Keepers and some of their cute stamps too.

We have been so lucky here at AllyScraps to have Linda guest design for us this month. She is such a scrapbook treasure. We have some good news though.... she has agreed to come back again... can't wait!! Check out Linda's blog, it's filled with tons of inspiration.

~ Dana

PS, thanks to everyone who submitted a layout for our sketch contest. We have some wonderful submissions. We are making a decision, and will post the winner in the next couple of days.

Love Your Mum!

It is so nice to be back here as a guest artist.  Cathy always has such yummy stuff in the store.

We celebrate Mother's Day in the UK in March but it's celebrated in America next month, so now would be a great time to start making a special gift for Mum.

I created this little blackboard which will be ideal for making a note of those items which have run out or may be a note of what is on tonight's menu.

The base is a child's blackboard - an ideal, super-cute size!  The fresh spotty paper is from My Little Shoebox Bird's Eye View and the edges are covered with Imaginisce Good Morning Sunshine.

I have cut out the lovely icons from My Little Shoebox Half a Cup paper.  If you look really close at the muffin, you'll see that it's sprinkled with Stickles.

Create a lovely pleated rosette using Granny's Apron, top it off with a fabulous pearl from Kaiser Craft's Embellishment pack.  The very sweet chipboard knife and fork from Maya Road which have been coloured with silver ink.  Add a few roses for a feminine touch and voila! 

Don't forget that there is still time to enter the fabulous sketch challenge running until Sunday 11th April.  Check all the details here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Morag x

Welcome to Stacey Michaud!

It's April, and with April comes some fabulous new guest designers here at AllyScraps. Our first one is brand new to the AllyScraps design team, a big welcome to Stacey Michaud!



Hi all! My name is Stacey Michaud. I am married to a great guy and we have two wonderful children! I am a teacher during the day and an avid scrapbooker by night! Loving all things paper, I scrap to create keepsakes for my family and friends. I get the most inspiration from the product I am working with, using it as my muse. When designing layouts, my favorite part is being able to tell the story behind the photos. I use my layouts as an opportunity to express my innermost feelings, good or bad, so that my family and friends will know just how I feel about them. I have been blessed enough to be published in Scrapbook Trends and Memory Makers magazine as well as several idea books! I am currently designing for Pink Paislee and Scrapstreet.com Magazine. It is so nice to be back at Ally Scraps, which was my very first online home!

Here is Stacey's first project. Love the theme of it and the graphic design. Wow! She was inspired by the vintage images of the old fashion toys as well as the number sticks. These items inspired her to create a layout about her kids' current favorite items. Stacey used papers and embellishments from Sassafras Lass, both the Cherry Delicious and Apple Jack lines. She used the borders and the blue glitter alphabet from the Cherry Delicious line. She also used buttons by Cosmo Cricket. Love how she mixed up the lines of paper and the journaling is just perfect!



Thanks so much Stacey! Can't wait to see your next layout. :) Here's a link to Stacey's blog, since I'm sure that you'll want to check out more of her work! Hope you'll check back later this week as Linda Albrecht will be back with another awesome spring project. Also, I hope you have all noticed that AllyScraps is having a sketch contest... you can check out all of the information here. The due date is coming up soon, April 11th, so we hope that you're hard at work on your entry. Enjoy your day and see you soon!

~ Dana