Jot Magazine Issue 2

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Jot

Issue 2 2013

documenting life. telling stories. taking pictures. paper crafting.

A

paper crafting magazine

for the modern

day memory

keeper

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Jot

are you a

girl?

Are you a camera toting, everyday moment recording, paper loving girl?

do you...

• hang out on Instagram? Upload photos of your new shoes, your kids or your breakfast? • pin with great gusto? • love paper crafts, scrapbooking and taking photos? • feel passionate about recording your family’s stories? • adore Project Life/pocket style paper crafting? • admit to feeing a tad overwhelmed at all this memory keeping stuff? • stalk the postie waiting for a box full of papery goodness to arrive? • love connecting with other paper crafty girls?

You do?

>>then you will love our Jot Spot community...

Read more on our website>> www.jotmagazine.com.au jotmagazine.com 2


We did it. Well that was a bit of a whirlwind -- these past few months. What an awesome response we had to our very first issue of Jot.

Mood Board challenges and social media interaction.

It’s been crazy around here. AND so exciting to realise we struck a chord with all of you fellow camera toting, paper craft loving, life documenting girls out there.

We officially introduce our Jot Team. These ten girls have hit the ground running since joining the Jot Team and have been busy creating projects, interacting with our readers on our blog and out there in social media and in this issue we get to know them all a little better.

How cool is that! Thank you for believing in us here at Jot. Our circulation sky rocketed to 250,000 readers in just a few weeks after releasing our first issue. Those sort of numbers just blow my mind. But it’s not just those enormous readership numbers that are awesome -- it’s the emails, comments, facebook response and direct feedback we have received from you, our readers, that has been the best thing. We have experienced such passionate support from our readers and advertisers for what we are doing with Jot and not just with the magazine but with our blog, regular

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So. It’s time for Issue 2. And it’s a beauty.

We also have inspiration galore -- we have some incredibly talented people creating for us in this issue. Sian Fair is back with another article, this time it’s all about Storytelling Sunday and we share our next Project Life/pocket style scrapbooking instalment plus oodles of papery projects, products and stories. It’s all happening!

So dive into the pages and start exploring. It’s Issue 2, Jot time.


editor/art director Kim Archer editorial assistant Lisa Pate style editor Tamar Bostock writers Abi Beach Sian Fair Kim Stewart Kim Jeffress Stephanie Bryan advertising manager Lisa Pate

lisa@etzceteramagazine.com.au

Contact Us

PO Box 37 Wallsend NSW 2287

e: kim@kimarcher.com.au

Published by Kim Archer ABN: 88 649 297 554

website:

www.jotmagazine.com

submissions

Interested in submitting to Jot Magazine? We accept submissions of creative project tutorials or written articles that are in line with our paper crafting/modern memory keeping theme. We also put out certain gallery calls from time to time (check our site). Email submissions to: kim@kimarcher.com.au jotmagazine.com 4

in this issue.


contents.

08

119 what’s inside? 01 03 06 08 12 15 23 37 49 52 57 66 83 86 93 96 104 117 119 137 156 158

COVER Abi Beach EDITOR’S LETTER by Kim Archer QUICK LAYOUT Sharmaine Kruijver CONFETTI with Tamar Bostock CONFETTI EXTRA with Lisa Pate ACCORDION ALBUM by Stephanie Bryan JOT TEAM meet the new team. POCKET STYLE little details SHAKER POCKETS Kim Jeffress ABI BEACH Creating Paper Dreams COMING FULL CIRCLE Abi Beach BLOGGER Janine Pikoleit A CLOSER LOOK Kim Stewart STORYTELLING SUNDAY COLLAGE CARDS Kim Stewart 5PM Gallery SPEECH BUBBLES Gallery SPEECH BUBBLES Shopping SELFIES Gallery POCKET SCRAPBOOKING Showcase SPOTTED Sandra Dietrich INSTAGLAM Aimee Dow

Pocket Style: We dive into the world of Project Life in our second instalment in our pocket style scrapbooking series. This issue it’s all about the little details! Check it out on page 37

96 jotmagazine.com 5

49

57


Use die cuts to add little pops of colour

Use a mini frame to highlight a part of your photo like I have done here to showcase the hand me down boots.

quick

layout

Sharmaine Kruijver The Jot Team

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Using the typewriter to add journaling makes for a quick alternative to the computer/printer combo.

Creating a title with different alpha stickers is a great way to use up your stash.

Subject prompt: The challenge is to document a piece of clothing. It could be a precious piece, a much loved article or, like my page, a hand-me-down. Did you take the challenge? Head to our CHALLENGE PAGE to share your layout.

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confetti little bits + pieces from around the www. Curated by Tamar Bostock

Vintage Type Card

washi tape

A little bit of washi makes a paper project instantly cuter. What could be better than these sets of typewriter themed washi. They come in a variety of colours and are available here from Four Corner Store.

ABOVE:We are loving these greeting cards by Jessie Mills. A handwritten note and slipped onto a classically wrapped gift or as a filler for Project Life, the colour combo is one of our all time favourites. Shop here.

Typewriter Flair buttons

Flair buttons are all the rage in papercrafting circles. Simply put, they are little “badges� without the pins so they sit flat on your project. Finding Nana has a beautiful range. Find them here.

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confetti

Greeting Card

Anna from Modern Printed Matter loves the tradition of hand written correspondence as do we! Her modern design style makes for a perfect card to send a friend. Visit the shop here>>

Stamp it

Featuring a typewriter font and a sweet play on words, this typewriter themed set of acrylic stamps by Hero Arts is a perfect fit for our typewriter round up.

Available from Hero Arts here>>

Typewriter tags We adore these embellished typewriter white manila tags that have been hand stamped and hand sewn by Jaime they are decorated with pretty papers and vintage sheet strips. Visit Raising Up Rubies to see an eclectic selection of hand made tags and cards. Visit the store

here>>

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confetti

Mini Typewriter Instagrams ABOVE + LEFT:

Look at these adorable mini instagram images (ABOVE). By Michelle Wooderson, they come six to a set on a 6x4 inch card and are perfect for gift cards, notebooks, cute tags and packaging. Michelle Wooderson’s blog is always filled with clever stamped projects. While she is known for her beautiful cards she also makes great scrapbooking layouts and is a Project Lifer as well. This project (LEFT) features her sold out My Type of Friend Card Set but her shop is well worth a visit. It’s filled with all manner of paper creating goodies and often has her one of a kind hand made cards too. Visit Michelle’s blog here>> Visit Michelle’s store here>>

A Collection of Thought’s blogger, Tamar Bostock lives on the Gold Coast with her husband Richard and twin daughters, Talia and Sofia. jotmagazine.com 11


Compiled by Lisa Pate

Sammy&Lola

Bright and bold with fabulous graphic prints, these cute notebooks are a must have. Can’t decide which one to choose? Pop one in your handbag, one on your work desk and give one to a friend. See more here>>

Craft Queen Time to get planning for the festive season. We will be wrapping, winding, tying and creating with these gorgeous Christmas inspired ribbons from Craft Queen. Shop here.

Scrappy Kapers

With its washed out and distressed finish, these cardstock weight papers would be perfect for any paper crafting project. We love the dreamy combination of blues and greens. Shop here>>

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confettI EXTRA

Connect with us.

APOCD We love the quick and easy application of these rub-ons. Perfect for telling the story on your scrapbook pages and in your Project Life album. Shop here>>

Grab a

cuppa &

head to our

blog

for more Jot stories and inspiration.

Craft House

We may already have a good collection of Project Life kits but we can’t help but want to add the bold images, and beautiful colours of the Honey Edition. Shop here>> jotmagazine.com 13

or follow us on

social media.


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accordion album

mini accordion Make a

album of memories.. Jot Team girl Stephanie Bryan shows us how easy it is to make a simple accordion folded mini album ready for you to fill with precious memories and stories.

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fold it! Making mini books is a great way to document everyday life. They are simple and easy to make and are so cute plus there is nothing better than holding a little book of memories in your hands. Mini books look lovely placed in a living room and they make wonderful gifts. I love making mini books and the accordion folded mini is my favourite.

S tephanie

Did you take the challenge? Head to our CHALLENGE PAGE to share your mini accordion book of memories based on Stephanie’s project.

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accordion album

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accordion mini book Stephanie Bryan - The Jot Team You only need a few supplies, some pictures and you are ready to go! Let’s see how to make your own accordion folded mini book, ready for decorating and filling with your own photos and stories.

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gather your supplies • chipboard • cardstock and/or patterned paper • ribbon, embellishments • paper trimmer • bone folder, adhesive • optional: sewing machine, die cut machine


1

3

2

4

how to make one basic mini book

>>What I used:

1 Gather your supplies together.

Here are the supplies that I used to make my mini book:

2 To make a basic accordion folded mini book, start

• Patterned paper: Crate

by trimming your patterned paper so you have two 4.5x12 inch pieces of paper.

3 Using a bone folder, score your pieces of paper every 4 inches.

4 Lay one end of one piece of paper over the end of

the other piece of paper, lining up the edge of your paper with the scored line on the second piece.

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• • • •

Paper Ribbon: October Afternoon Die Cut: Studio Calico (Happy Place) Embellishments: Crate Paper, Studio Calico Other: typewriter, sewing machine, Silhouette Cameo


5

6

8

7

5 Trim out two pieces of

chipboard and patterned paper for your cover.

6 Attach the trimmed

pieces of patterned paper to your chipboard, adding your ribbon in the middle.

7 Sew around your

chipboard, ribbon and patterned paper to secure.

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8 Attach the front and back

covers to the first and last page of your accordion pages. Gather your photos and a variety of patterned papers and embellishments to finish your album.

Fill your mini book with photos, simple embellishments and journaling. Use my photos as a guide to decorating and have fun with different products and ideas.


Fill your mini book with photos from the one event, like I have done with photos of our trip to the beach or use random photos of family and friends.

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www.tarisota.typepad.com

Tamar Bostock - sharing life, creations and inspiration

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our new

creative>> team

After a world wide search ... meet the Jot Team >> camera toting, every day moment recording, paper loving girls. Our Jot Team create projects, write stories and make samples for all issues of the magazine, our blog, challenges and workshops. Let’s get to know them a little better.

A very big thank you to our sponsors, Craft House who provided prize packs for each of the girls. Read more on our Jot girls, including their blog links, here>> jotmagazine.com 23


anna allan

Her Pop calls her Little Anna in the Big Wide World but we call her Anna. She’s a Tasmanian, who now lives in Esperance, Western Australia with her family. Anna’s personal tagline is “living a purpose driven, creative life” and she is passionate about creating. “Whether it be creating a quick, healthy meal for my family, getting busy with paper and photos, whipping up a crochet project, or creating a fun, adventurous and happy life for my kids – I’m just passionate about living life well and doing it creatively!” Real life in Anna’s house is interesting as with two young kids, you never know what will happen next. Her mischievous, funny, challenging, demanding and adorable girls keep both Anna and her hubby on their toes. Weekends are time for relaxing and taking time out together as a family. Anna loves documenting their lives through Project Life because she believes that our brain’s memory bank is great but sometimes it takes a photo and story to bring that memory back in all its fullness.

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“Life is meant to be lived so I say live it, document it and you’ll always remember where you’ve been and what you’ve done.”


raquel bowman “Stay true and breathe -everything will be okay.”

Geelong girl born and bred, Raquel describes her biggest highlight so far as being the birth of her daughter. “The arrival of my baby girl has been such an amazing and positive change to myself and my husbands life. Now I can not even think about what life would be like without her.” Raquel’s personal tag line is to “stay true and breathe - everything will be okay” which holds her in good stead as she’s a self confessed worrier and over analyser. At 9pm you will find Raquel with the dinner dishes done, baby (hopefully!), settled into bed and then it’s Raquel time. 9pm onwards and Raquel is knee deep in Pinterest, surfing the net and scrapbooking. An avid paper crafter, Raquel loves clustering and layering elements on her page when it comes to creating a layout. Real life with a small baby means never ending cups of cold coffee, dirty nappies, baby cuddles, ABC2 on TV, planning and ordering products (for her online store, A Piece Of Cake Designs), and somehow fitting in housework around baby’s nap time plus staying up super late to be creative. “It’s kind of my domestic bliss -- and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Raquel loves documenting life and feels that it means she is getting the chance to tell her stories which she feels is so important.

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stephanie bryan Born and raised in South Carolina, Stephanie or Steph as her friends and family call her, still calls South Carolina home, where she lives with her young family. She describes herself as silly, outgoing and fun and claims her household is pretty loud as they all like to have fun. As the mom, she’s been known to say, “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.” Passionate about paper crafting, Stephanie says, “I make stuff. I love to create and I love to make. It truly is my passion. It’s kind of ironic that I just fell onto the “scrapbooking bandwagon” the beginning of 2013. Prior to that I had mainly played around with Project Life and mini books. I’m not much of an artist, but I do love to dabble with mixed media techniques and the like.” She loves coffee and can be found in her craft room each night. Stephanie documents her family’s life through her Project Life pages so that her children can remember the everyday moments. “I lost my mom when I was 19 and part of my childhood went with her. I wish I had those memories to look back on.” jotmagazine.com 26

“I document our life so my children can remember our everyday and those special moments.”


amanda hall “Treat others how you would like to be treated yourself.”

Call her Amanda, ‘Manda or AH but not Mandy. Amanda Hall lives with her family on their farm in South Australia. She still lives in exactly the same town she grew up in. “As a teenager I couldn’t wait to move away -- and yet here I am back “home” again.” Determined, shy and a perfectionist, Amanda is all about keeping it real. She loves nothing more then to document the bad stuff as well as the rainbow and lollipop moments. Real life in the Hall house is filled with hugs, laughs, fun, tears, general chaos plus lots of yelling at the moment with two hormonal teens around. Amanda has a strong love for friendship, fairness and being true to yourself. She loves a good coffee, wine and cheese (not all at once!) and lists following her childhood dream to become a registered nurse as one of the highlights of her life. “I just love helping people when they need it most.” Amanda documents life to remember those everyday moments that would otherwise be forgotten.

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lauren hender Some call her LJ or Lozzie but we know her as Lauren. She ventured away from her home town of Taree on the mid north coast of NSW, Australia for study and work but after her family arrived, Lauren couldn’t think of a better place to raise her children. Passionate about paper crafting, motherhood and pushing personal creative boundaries, Lauren says the highlight of her life has been the birth of her children. “They are by far my biggest achievement and I have to say, I did a good job!” When she’s not working, you can find Lauren regularly at the coffee machine and then scratching her head in wonder at how her craft room got so messy. She describes family life in the Hender household as crazy, hectic, happy and full of love and she admits that taking time out to concentrate on her craft, slows down the craziness of life and allows her to relax. Lauren documents life because she hopes one day that she can sit down with her grandchildren and share stories about the extraordinary lives of their parents. “I hope my albums carry wisdom and moments that fill my heart and the hearts of my family.”

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“Concentrating on my craft slows the craziness of life down and allows me to relax.”


“I do not want to forget the little moments in my boys’ lives that will one day be the big things!”

kim jeffress Kim grew up in the city of Sydney but now calls Brisbane home where she lives with her family. Life in the Jeffress household, with two little boys around means it’s crazy, always noisy and messy. Passionate about preserving her family’s stories, Kim says she documents their lives because she doesn’t want to forget the little moments in her boys’ lives that will one day be looked back on as the big things. She has a strong love for her family, the colour yellow and when she has a spare minute you can find her on her iPad checking out Pinterest. Kim describes herself as caring, friendly and emotional and lists getting married as her biggest life highlight so far. She admits to not being a good cook and “I always..wash my hands when I get home, I’m germophobic!” By 9pm you will find Kim in her scrapbooking studio making pretty things usually using Heidi Swapp products.

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sharmaine kruijver Sharmaine Kruijver, pronounced “Crover” which is Dutch, “Dave’s dad migrated from Holland in the 60’s”, lives in the ‘burbs of Hobart, happily married with four daughters. She grew up in Tasmania, Australia and while she’s moved around the state, it’s where she has always lived. Sharmaine describes herself as friendly, giving and fun with a personal saying of “it’s all good”, she is passionate about her family. She has a strong love for telling her story, the way she sees it and documents their life because she believes everyone has a story to tell. “Scrapbooking is a great way to document that. I believe it’s part of my legacy and that’s important.” Real life in the Kruijver family is busy. “I wish it wasn’t. I crave slow and quiet.” Sharmaine works as a teacher’s aide and lists having her girls, having her sister and girls moving back home and going to CHA as some of her biggest life highlights. When she’s not working you will find Sharmaine at her scrapbooking table or in the kitchen cooking. jotmagazine.com 30

“I believe that everyone has a story to tell and scrapbooking is a great way to document it.”


“Once in my creative zone, I’m majorly productive and I’ll crank it until the wee hours of the morning (oh, night owl that I am). Ha!”

wendy morris A Southern girl born and raised, Wendy lives in Daphne, Alabama about 30 minutes from the most beautiful beaches along the Gulf coast. Passionate about art, Wendy is a lover of fabulous art museums and has visited many all over the world. “Each one brings such renewed inspiration and depth into my creations.” Wendy’s biggest life highlight so far: “God bringing into my life a random meeting with the true love of my life, Enzo, 5,000+ miles away on another continent. After a marriage of 7 years and a painful divorce 8 years ago, I never considered myself capable of an open heart to love and trust again with all my soul.” With a strong love for motivating and inspiring others to a better life, Wendy admits she would be lost without thinking on something creative every single day. “Sometimes words are not needed but simply the photos tells the story. Photos are always my source of inspiration in unfolding my story to document.” Living life with no regrets, Wendy is generous, compassionate and ambitious and always has a to do list going. “Checking things off my list keeps me disciplined, focused and organised.”

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yana smakula Yana or Yanka, to her friends, grew up and still lives in Ukraine. She is passionate about her work and lists owning her own company as her biggest life highlight so far. “I live with my hubby and not one, but two completely black cats.” Yana has a strong love for tea and not a day goes by without a good cup of tea. “I drink tea all the time when I’m at home or working. Its my go-to drink.” Responsible, punctual and quick, at 9pm each night you can find her “working, working, working. It’s prime time working time for me. When not working, you can find me sleeping or crafting. If I’m not doing either - I’m working. Oh and yeah facebook(ing) too! Be sure to friend me!“ Yana documents life because she loves it. “I was going to say it’s cheaper than retail therapy, but I don’t really think it is, LOL. I love what I do and that’s all that matters.”

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“I make at least one layout every single week. Sometimes two, sometimes three, sometimes two a day!”


“I am passionate about creating things and I’ve always loved design.”

kim stewart Her real name is Kimberly but we call her Kim and she grew up and still lives in Jacksonville Florida. Passionate about creating things, and having studied architecture, Kim has always had a strong love for design. She says her biggest life highlight would be her son. “He’s the best thing in my life.” At 9pm, you can find Kim on the sofa with papers everywhere, making scrapbooking pages or collages on her coffee table while watching reality TV. Real life for Kim is pretty mellow. “I just have one son and I’m a single mom, so I don’t like drama and I try to keep things simple and only do things that enrich my life.” “I document life because I love the organic process of it all... it makes me think and enjoy the simple everyday things that are so much more important than we realize at the time! I work at being grateful for the things I have and the many wonderful moments me and my family share.”

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what you need to complete a scrapbook

Project Life is for anyone and everyone! www.projectlife.com.au e: info@projectlife.com.au jotmagazine.com 34


Project Life Project Life simplifies how you document life and preserve memories. With this easier than ever scrapbooking system, designed by Becky Higgins, you simply choose your photos and add your journaling to pre-designed journaling cards and slip them into the Photo Pocket Pages. The result is a stylish keepsake that represents your life or whatever occasion you choose to record. Even memorabilia can be tucked inside the pockets. Craft House brings us the most comprehensive range of Project Life products, accessories and support offered anywhere “down under”. Having had an association with Becky Higgins since 2004, Becky invited Craft House to be part of Project Life when it was first released back in 2009. Craft House is as committed to Becky and Project Life today as it was back then and continues to stock the entire current and original product ranges and designs in support of all Project Life customers. jotmagazine.com 35

“Project Life is a simple yet affordable, stylish system for documenting your life. ”

Craft House website


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project life

little details>>

pocket style

scrapbooking Following our series on pocket style scrapbooking,

this issue we explore how to add the detail and include memorabilia in your Project Life pages. BY Kim Archer

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little details

Words + photos | Kim Archer It’s all in the detail>>

Project Life or pocket style scrapbooking is designed to be a simple system for recording life’s moments. Just slip your photos into the pockets and add a few journaling cards. Simple. Done. Beautiful. But what if you want to go that one step further? What if you want to take your pages from beautiful to extra WOW? Those little extra details can really lift a page up, enhance the design and help to highlight journaling or a photo within the spread. And the beauty of embellishing or jazzing up your Project Life pages is that you don’t need a ton of product to do so.

Let’s take a look at some ideas for sprucing up your pages and giving them the wow factor.

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PROJECT LIFE

Project Life spread by Stephanie Bryan - The Jot Team.

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what toadd?

machine to add to your

way stitching is an easy tail some interest and de page.

Here’s a list of simple embellishments you can add to your pocket style scrapbooking pages. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

flair buttons tiny tags dymo labelling chipboard stickers stamps machine stitching hand stitching mini staples buttons fabric scraps teeny flowers paper clips date stamps digital elements calendar cards labels stickers sequins small fabric scraps

Keep an eye out for flat, small embellishments for your Project Life albums to eliminate bulky pages. Manufacturers are now recognising the popularity of pocket style scrapbooking and so there are lots of teeny letter stickers, mini embellishments and flat, thin buttons and badges now on the market.

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ABOVE | Jot Team girl Stephanie Bryan is the master of small detail. She knows just how to add the perfect little embellishment to make her pages stand out. Here she machine stitches some letter stickers into place and adds a “take note” sticker to her photo journaling cards.


Add a label

or two..

LEFT | Stephanie has used a trio of label stickers here on her page and machine stitched them down the centre to keep them in place, finishing with a “super” flair badge to lift her page design. Chipboard letter stickers or flair badges can be attached to the outside of your plastic pockets, instead of on your photos inside the pockets to eliminate bulk.

LEFT | Loredana Bucaria from Italy loves to add lots of tiny detail and play with colour in her Project Life spreads. Here she uses red string wrapped around a journaling card to keep a charm in place and has added a cute clock embellishment to the centre of another journaling card.

Visit Lory’s blog here and Stephanie’s blog here to see more of their gorgeous Project life work. jotmagazine.com 41


frame it..

Use tiny frames to highlight or focus on a particular element in your photos. Here Emily Adams from Bristol, TN has used Crate Paper’s slide frames to draw focus to the baby birds in the tree in her photo. Visit Emily’s blog to see her full layout here.

adding in

memorabilia Project Life allows us to use the pockets for more then just photos and journaling cards. They provide a fantastic space for slipping in memorabilia such as ticket stubs, movie tickets, kid’s notes, gift cards or other little bits and pieces of life. ABOVE | Loredana Bucaria from Italy shows us how she has added a pocket with extra journaling on her page making her Project Life interactive. jotmagazine.com 42


Stephanie has included her little girl’s handwriting on a journaling card >>

ABOVE | Stephanie - Jot Team girl has kept her embellishing to a minimum with beautiful results. Stephanie adds little touches like machine stitching and labels as well as stickers and tiny tags.

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Include ticket stubs or movie tickets or even price tags from new clothes in your Project Life as a glimpse into your every day life.


Glue tiny detail like sequins in place for a pop of colour

Week 4

Loredana Bucaria - Naples, Italy “For this week I have used a lot of digital 4x6 templates to insert photos and journaling, simply perfect to document your week! I love to use a lot of tiny details and play with embellishments and colors.� jotmagazine.com 44


PROJECT LIFE

Add hand journaling directly to your photo and layer on some labels plus the date stamped in place for a few fun features.

Add stamped detail as well as small embellishments like this typewriter flair button to your tags.

Letter stickers, labels and tiny tags make great embellishments for Project Life pages.

NEXT ISSUE: how to stay up to date and beat the Project Life overwhelm. jotmagazine.com 45


your tips for staying boutique craft supplies www.craftqueen.com.au Phone: 02 63626008

are you a

blogger? store owner? manufacturer? Etsy store owner? ..and looking for somewhere to promote and advertise you and your business?

advertise here Jot Magazine has a circulation of 250,000+ readers. Globally. Email Lisa Pate for details. jotmagazine.com 46

on track with

project

life>>

Here’s some of your tips for keeping on top of your Project Life albums, as read on our Jot Facebook page..


ht and g i n y r e o l ev Journa y each week t da have a our photos. sor t y ~Amity

Knight

My one and only tip: don’t stress. It’s meant to be fun

Loving th e tips! I fi keeping gure it as a pr io r ity in the ToDo list is a g ood idea . ~Jenny James

~Maria Featon

o date!!! I d to p u m Yes I a ly so Life month t c je ro P re my ch pressu not so mu assett Blennerh a in g r o e ~G

I work month by month but keep a note in my phone of things I want to remember to include ... funny things said etc

Only do on e week a y ear! I try very hard and ha lots of wo rks in pro ve gre but gener ally only fi ss nish one week a year

~Cass C

usack

~Sheena Rowlands

JOT MAGAZINE

So. Are you up to or almost up to date with your Project Life-ing? What are your tips for staying on track and up to date?

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RIGHT: Hashtag Instagram printables >>> My Sister’s Suitcase. Website here.

5

<<LEFT: 4x6inch patterned filler cards from Kimberly Church. Website here.

printables

Project Life free printables

We’ve found some fun and free printable designs just perfect for your Project Life/pocket style pages. ABOVE: “quoted” journaling cards from sisters, Nat and Holly from the My Sister’s Suitcase blog here. >>>

ABOVE: Paper clip flags from Banana Fish Studios. Website here >>>

RIGHT: Journaling cards from A Vegas Girl At Heart. Website here>> jotmagazine.com 48

By Kim Archer


make

journaling cards

your

own

shaker

pockets>>

PROJECT by Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

Did you take the challenge? Head to our CHALLENGE PAGE to share your Kim Jeffress inspired shaker pockets.

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2

Shaker Card

Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

What do you get when you combine two of the hottest trends in scrapbooking right now? Project Life AND sequins are very popular right now and I wanted to share two ways to create a confetti style shaker card for your Project Life spreads.

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The easiest and quickest way to create this look, is to simply add some sequins and punched pattern paper circles into a pocket of your plastic sleeve and then seal it up with some coordinating washi tape or machine stitch the opening closed. But if you have a little more time, let’s see how to make your pocket a little more special with a few extra details>>


journaling cards

2

1

3

4

supplies • two instaframes or chipboard

frames • plastic sleeves to cut up • embellishments to “fill” your pocket - sequins, glitter, tiny wooden embellishments etc • sewing machine, glue 5 1 Start with two instaframes or

chipboard frames that are the same size and shape and will fit inside your chosen pocket. Mine had a backing on it so I trimmed it out with my paper trimmer. You need two matching frames to create your pocket piece because the pocket will be seen on the reverse side of the page as well.

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>>Filling 2 Trim a spare plastic sleeve into a piece slightly larger than the opening of your frame.

3 Sew up three sides of the plastic piece with your sewing machine or hand stitch together.

4 Fill the opening with your

“confetti” and seal up the opening. See TIPS>>

Add small bits and pieces from your stash - sequins, small veneer pieces, different sizes of glitter - anything you like that you think would look fab in your pocket. Play around with how full you want your shaker page to look. Now sew the top shut or tape it together with double sided tape. Add glue around the edges of your frame and sandwich it together with the plastic piece inside.


designer spotlight : INTERVIEW | Kim Archer PHOTOS: Abi Beach

Abi Beach Creating Paper Dreams

Creating Paper Dreams blogger, Abi Beach lives a double life in the UK. “In term time, I am up in the North of England at Durham University being a student but in the holidays, I live in the south with my parents, pretending to be fifteen again and letting them cook for me.�

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ABI BEACH

Abi started blogging almost five years ago after taking a blogging for scrapbookers online course. “It was incredibly informative and connected me to other like minded bloggers, many of whom I am still in contact with and would call dear friends. I had wanted to start a blog for a long time as I have always enjoyed writing and sharing my crafts. I was worried though that I would be writing into the big wide internet and my words would be read by no one. Starting a blog through a course immediately gave me people to follow, be inspired by and to connect with.” Abi tries to blog every other day and admits to sometimes being stuck for topics. “I sometimes get stuck for topics but after five years have learnt to let it go if the blog posts are not coming and instead get inspired through instagram and other talented bloggers. I also write monthly posts on six topics. This helps keep the blog ticking over and gives me a sense of consistency if I am in a blogging rut!”

Glorious everyday moments are the three words that Abi uses to describe her blog. “I blog about the big moments that make me smile and the little moments which are just as photo worthy. I blog about my latest crafty endeavour be that sewing, paper crafts or knitting. I blog about university life, the joy of taking pictures and the stories behind photos. I blog about the little things on my mind and the boy that is in my heart.“ Having always been creative, Abi remembers making paper mache models from newspaper and glue and from a young age she had a desk in her bedroom where she could paint, draw and create to her heart’s content. These days, Abis favourite thing to make depends on the season. “In the winter I can’t get enough of knitting warm cowls, in the spring I crave sewing new quilts with the windows wide open. Summer brings more paper crafts and then in the Autumn the knitting needles and the warm materials come out again!” jotmagazine.com 53


An avid Project Lifer, Abi believes memory keeping is allowing her to slowly thread and piece together the story of her life for her future children and their children. “Memory keeping allows me to keep objects and photos and preserve them. It’s important because it is the best way I can show what my life was like. Studying history, I like the fact that my memory keeping will one day be a source of information for people studying my generation.”

So what’s next for Abi Beach? “Gosh, what’s next for Abi Beach? On the most basic level is complete my degree! On a blogging level I want to expand and possibly think about taking sponsors. I would also love to sell some of the things I make however I try so many new crafts I feel like the “jack of all trades master of none”! I’m just very excited about the possibilities of blogging and what the future holds.”

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ABI BEACH

Abi’s paper feathers tutorial came about from a challenge to use bird elements and to try things outside of our comfort zone. Abi used black ink, highlighted in gold and smudged with water and a cotton bud. See the full tutorial here.

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“Memory keeping allows me to keep objects and photos and preserve them. It’s important because it is the best way I can show what my life was like.” Abi’s blog:

Creating Paper Dreams

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comiing full circle

memory

keeping>>

coming full circle

Story + Photos | Abi Beach

How Project Life lured this one time avid scrapbooker back into the world of memory keeping. I used to be a scrapbooker. I started scrapbooking at thirteen. I was published in a scrapbooking magazine at fifteen and I started my blog when I was seventeen. I felt like the anomaly in the blogging and scrapbooking world; a teenager who enjoyed writing her short memories on patterned paper and sharing my life on the Internet. I was always creative. jotmagazine.com 57

As a child, one drawer of my desk was just full of plain white paper and I would paint draw, stick and fold to my hearts content. When I received a scrapbooking kit for Christmas I was overjoyed and felt I could finally channel my creativity into a specific hobby. My friends at school were baffled by scrapbooking but in awe of the pages I created. I liked the idea of creating a bank of memories of my teenage years.


So the years rolled on and I became more involved in the scrapbooking world. I spent pocket money on patterned paper and album dividers. I started my blog through a course called “blogging for scrapbookers”. I wrote about scrapbooking and I became friends with other scrapbookers -- people I still count as close blog friends and whose work continues to awe me. It was inevitable really that as I grew older the exams and revision increased and so my time to scrap became limited and eventually scrapbooking was squeezed out. With the rise of pinterest and social media I became more intimidated by other people’s work and a busy Uni schedule meant I had such little time to scrap.

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When I did sit down to scrapbook, I would sit there stuck, wondering where to start.

So I stopped. I gave myself creative freedom and turned my hand to other crafts. I started sewing, made my first quilt, learnt to knit and made cards. I painted and even made myself my own makeshift loom on which to weave. However, something pulled me back to scrapbooking. I would walk into a paper store and want to run my hands over the different patterns. I still followed countless scrapbooking blogs and I was still taking hundreds of photos. After moving away from the scrapbooking world I was

intrigued and perhaps a bit intimidated when I began looking into scrapbooking again. Trends had moved on and I didn’t feel I had time or resources as a student to produce the kind of layouts I wanted to create. At this point I felt I needed to reassess exactly what it was that I had liked about scrapbooking. From the other crafts I dabbled in I liked the pick up, put down nature of them. In many respects I liked the simplicity. In terms of scrapbooking I realised I loved the concept of pairing words with photos and recording memories. It dawned on me that what had drawn me away from scrapbooking was my own belief that my layouts had to be “good enough” and on trend.


comiing full circle

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I had lost sight of the “why� in scrapbooking. I lost sight of the joy of simply creating. For a while I had cautiously looked into starting Project Life. It seemed to me to be what I was personally looking for in scrapbooking. Project Life mirrored what I was trying to create with my blog; a collection of stories and memories paired with pictures. I liked the simplicity of doing it week by week, of events sitting side by side, of pockets to take a lot of the decision making away. I knew that my budget and my lifestyle while studying for a degree would make completing this project on paper difficult. With much trepidation in January of 2013 I bought my first digital Project Life kit. For the first time in nearly three years I was scrapbooking again. Six months on and I am so glad I chose to make that decision. I am happy to have a weekly record of my first year at university, that my memories and hundreds of instagram photos are being recorded together. I am glad that the very basis of Project Life is about creating a memory keeping system that works for you. This totally suits where I am at the moment. My personal journey through scrapbooking and then into Project Life is one that taught me at a young age that whatever I did creatively it had to be because I enjoyed it. In the end my scrapbooking journey came full circle; I rejoice in the glorious, the colourful, the handmade and the every day, the stuff of life.

That is why I was a scrapbooker and that is why I still am a scrapbooker. jotmagazine.com 60


comiing full circle

going digital

“I am fully taken with first the project and secondly the digital way of doing it. That is not to say that I don’t like the paper version of Project Life but for me and my life at the moment, digital is working well.”

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Abi’s Project Life process>> 1

First up, normally on Sunday evening or Monday morning, I sit down and work out the photos for the week. I store my photos on iPhoto by month so just upload straight off the memory card and into there. It’s pretty easy to remember which ones were taken on the last week.

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2

I also open up Ink 361 and save all my instagrams from the last week into iPhoto too. These two processes give me a pretty good idea of how many and what photos I am dealing with that week.


comiing full circle

3

I don’t plan my pages. I open a photo and make a few decisions. Where is it going to go on my layout (small photo or big), does it need added detail like a wrap around tag or a bit of handwriting or does it need a separate journaling card to fill in the story.

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4

I then go through the same process with the journaling card. I work out where the spaces are and fill them with either a pop of colour, a sentiment or a quote.


I tend to work on a spread for over an hour or so. I don’t really like leaving a page and coming back to it although that inevitably sometimes happens! I like the simplicity of Project Life. I don’t know if this is because I am doing it in digital form but for me it feels clean and simple and uncluttered. With photos and words paired together I feel in many ways like Project Life is an extension of my blog. jotmagazine.com 64

Uni student Abi Beach lives in the UK and blogs regularly about life, her creative projects and her Project Life journey. Visit Abi’s blog: Creating Paper Dreams


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tell us a friendship story

gallery>> It’s our story telling gallery -- this issue it’s all about friendship

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story telling

“Hello Old Friend”Amanda Hall - The Jot Team SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill flat. Papers: Lily Bee Design. Stickers: Sassafras. Embellishments: My Mind’s Eye chevron sticker, washi tape, enamel dots, Making Memories magnetic date stamp. Other: “Hello Old Friend” label was created in Photoshop.

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“My Forever Friend” Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

I love the friendship between my son and his little friend Alex. Whenever they are together, they play and play and play, they just adore each other’s company. I included a QR code on my layout of them together to really reinforce their sweet friendship.

SUPPLIES | Papers: Pink Paislee, Heidi Swapp, Bella Blvd, Pebbles. Stickers: October Afternoon, Basic Grey. Embellishments: Greatest View flair buttons, Freckled Fawn veneer, Heidi Swapp letters, Bella Blvd decorative tape, Technique Tuesday stamps. Other: Tsukineko Brilliance ink, tiny attacher, sequins.

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story telling

“My Best Forever” Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot Team One of my favourite things to scrap about is my husband and our relationship. Some might call it sappy but I call it important.

SUPPLIES | Papers: Elle’s Studio. Cardstock: Bazzill. Alphabets: Basic Grey, Crate Paper. Embellishments: Labeller: Dymo. Labeller Tape: D-lish Scraps. Packaging: Crate Paper. Wood Veneer: Studio Calico. Die Cuts: Elle’s Studio, Evalicious. Other: machine stitching, paint, pen, typewriter, staples. Digital Cut File: Cocoa Daisy. Cutting machine: Silhouette Cameo

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story telling

Married to my best friend

Raquel Bowman - The Jot Team

When I saw the theme of friendship for the Story Telling galley, I knew I wanted to document about the relationship I have with my husband. Although yes he is my husband, I also consider him my best friend. SUPPLIES | Kit: A Piece of Cake Designs July Main Cake kit. Papers: Carta Bella, Echo Park, Fancy Pants, Plain vellum. Embellishments: Jillibean Soup Alphabean stickers, Carta Bella Element Stickers, Studio Calico Star stickers, Washi tape, Prima rhinestone arrows, doily. Other: typewriter, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and staples, sewing machine and white thread, Silhouette Cameo, CK Ali Edwards font, 2 Peas in a Bucket cut file, American Crafts roller date stamp, Micador watercolour palette, Archival ink, Give a Girl a ... star stamp, EK success binding edge punch.

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“Whole World”Natalie Elphinstone, VICTORIA SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts. Papers: Studio Calico, Basic Grey, vellum. Alphabets: Heidi Swapp acrylic letters. Embellishments: Evalicious Tags, Flair and Stamps, Studio Calico wood veneer and cork embellishments, Flourish With a Bling adhesive pearls.

“My layout tells the story of how my youngest (who is only 3) repeatedly says to me at the moment “Mummy, you’re my best friend in the whole wide world”. While I’m not naive enough to think she’ll believe this forever, I’m certainly enjoying it while it lasts!!” jotmagazine.com 72

Soften a bu sy backgrou nd paper by la yering vellum over the to p.

Visit Natalie’s blog:

One Scrappy Doctor


“My Boys”Amanda Reddicliffe

story telling

SUPPLIES | Papers: Crate Paper, Studio Calico, vellum. Embellishments: Studio Calico wooden veneers and cork arrows, Crate Paper stickers, vintage tag, The Twinery twine, Dear Lizzy button. Alphabets: American Crafts cork thickers. Other: vintage Dymo label maker, Give a Girl A Stamp stamps from Polly’s Scraps kit, Stampin’ up scalloped border punch plus heart punch, Memento ink.

“I have so many photos of them cuddling and laughing together, these are not posed photos. They are like a couple of wise old men, kindred spirits, practical jokers, confidants and the best of friends. It makes my heart melt, the love they have for each other, and that is what this layout is all about.” jotmagazine.com 73

Visit Amanda’s blog here>>


“Our Story”Janelle Wind, Support Team SUPPLIES | Papers: October Afternoon, Echo Park, tissue paper. Embellishments: Washi tape, October Afternoon journaling cards, Evalicious stickers.

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“School Friends” Yvette Adams, Support Team SUPPLIES | Papers: Cristina Re fabric paper, notepad, dictionary paper. Alphabets: American Craft thickers Embellishments: Heidi Swapp paper flower, Jenni Bowlin card button, Doodlebug circles.

Yvette created this layout to share her story of her two best friends from high school. “My mum made my outfit! I loved the bolero but the skirt wasn’t at all what I had in mind.” jotmagazine.com 75


“Today Makes Me Smile” Loredana Bucaria - Naples, Italy

SUPPLIES | Papers: American Crafts. Papers: digital chevron template Studio Calico with digital papers. Embellishments: wood veneer - Studio Calico, enamel dots My Mind’s Eye, sequins from Studio Calico kit Other: sewing machine, Studio Calico stamps and Project Life journaling card.

“I love this page because it tells about a new friendship - a person I met during a scrapbooking event that I feel so close to and who is so similar to me. Iva is my soulmate. We have a lot of things in common including scrapbooking, reading, eating healthy and yummy foods and we love life and true people.” jotmagazine.com 76


You & Me

Jamie Pate, Colorado, USA “My layout is of my friend and me of 30 years while visiting the zoo of all places. It’s so important that we remember to take photos with our friends.”

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill Papers: My Mind’s Eye. Embellishments: My Mind’s Eye. Other: Up & Away - My Mind’s Eye, Heidi Swapp - colorshine - Gold Lame, Primrose, American Crafts glitter, vellum, Sizzix - die cuts.

Visit Jamie’s blog here>>

‘BFF” Magda Mizera, Poland “Let me introduce my best friend forever - my fiancé :) We are such soulmates, we don’t even have to speak - we can communicate via minds :)” SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned paper: Glitz Design. Embellishments: Glitz Design. Alphabet: American Crafts

Visit Magda’s blog: Magda Mizera>>

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let’s

meet designer and

blogger Janine

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blogger profile

Janine Pikoleit Janine Pikoleit lives with her boyfriend in the Netherlands in the beautiful city of Breda. “Though I live in the Netherlands, I’m not Dutch. I was born in Berlin, Germany, lived there for about 20 years, moved to the US, then back to Germany and then I moved to the Netherlands for study. Here I met my love and we have lived together for more than five years now.” What do you mostly create? Mostly I make layouts. When I started with scrapbooking I also tried mini-albums and altered art. Sometimes I still do these things as well as cards, mostly as presents for friends and family. But most of the time I love making layouts with my favourite pictures.

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How long does it take you to create a layout? Mostly two or three evenings (four if you count the time to clean up the mess after). The first evening I choose the picture, the material and possibly use my Silhouette to cut out the title or other shapes I want to use. I start actually scrapping my layout the next evening (I work five days a week and weekends I am often busy so I scrap a lot during evenings). First I arrange things, choose colours to go together or with the picture (though I love using black and white pictures) and I put all things on the layout and shuffle etc. When I like what I see, I leave it for that evening and start ‘gluing’ everything on the third night. What three products always find their way onto your layouts? I just love to use a combination of masks with sprays, paints and structuring paste. Also using shapes I cut with the Silhouette machine is one of my favourite things to use.


What are your favourite techniques to use in your work? Most of my layouts are quite ‘busy’. I tend to keep putting things onto the layout. I really still try to learn how to leave an empty space (I love artists such as Janna Werner or Jot girl Kim Stewart who create beautiful layouts with a very light and airy feeling). I love using masks and different types of structuring paste in combination with acrylic paints. My layouts are usually very colourful and have multiple layers of paint, sprays and paper. What do you mainly blog about? My blog solely keeps track of my creations. I like to present my art but I am not too keen on telling the world all of my private life. So my blog mostly tells in short what I have done, with what and why. If I found the inspiration somewhere else I will always mention the artist or source that inspired me. jotmagazine.com 80


How often do you blog? On average once a week. I have phases where I create a lot so I blog a lot and other times it is less.

It took me forever but I was so proud. In the end I did not play it much but mostly enjoyed making it.

Have you always been creative -- as a child? Yes, at least I like to think so. Besides reading, I love to craft and paint. I was an only child so I had to keep myself busy. I was not so much a girl who played a lot with dolls.

What’s the best thing about scrapbooking? It makes me happy. It gives me sense of accomplishment and pride when something works out the way I imagined it.

One thing I remember is that my parents could not afford a board game I wanted (Cluedo), so I memorised it at a friend’s place and made the whole game myself. jotmagazine.com 81

I love giving people personalised presents so that is a perfect hobby to do so. And last but not least, and not to forget it gives me balance in contrast to my work life. I can relax and just stop thinking too much. I just enjoy being creative.


Janine’s favourite colour combinations include silver, and pastel colours such as turquoise, blue and yellow. “But sometimes I also love to use strong colours such as red or orange. I also love gold and bronze.”

Find Janine: Blog Scrapaptive Facebook Pinterest

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A closer look

take a

closer look>>

Let’s take a closer look at this exquisite layout by Kim Stewart from our Jot Team>> jotmagazine.com 83


Adding a lot of little tidbits such as clothespins, strips of fabric and flowers make a layout so fun to look at!

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A closer look

day dreamer

Kim Stewart - The Jot Team

A lot of layouts come together for me in tidbits. One day I might make a little collage out of journal cards and little strips of paper and another day I might paint a fun little page in pretty colors. Usually they all come together when I have a certain look in mind and start pulling all kinds of fun things from my stash that I’ve made on previous days. I made the little collage here with a simple journal card cut into strips and finished it by sewing a thin strip of tulle over it. You could use all sorts of things behind the tulle like sequins, buttons or little strips of found words. I’ve stitched the tulle in place with pink thread and left the thread ends long and free for a fun finish. SUPPLIES | Papers: White paper tags by Paper Studio. Embellishments: two peas in a bucket free downloadable journal cards, recipe card Paper Studio. Alphabets: Michael’s letter stamps. Other: Staedtler watercolor crayons, tulle, craft store flower. glittered clothes pin, Cocoa Daisy black acid free ink.

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story

telling Sunday>> From High In The Sky blogger, Sian is back and this time she’s sharing how her idea of telling a story on her blog turned into a successful and fun regular blog linky party.

Story + Photos | Sian Fair

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Anyone interested

in a story?

Once upon a time I wrote a blog post about a Christmas when I was little and I invited readers to join in with a story of their own. I called it “Christmas Club” and it ran on my blog, From High in the Sky every Sunday that December. It was fun and it gathered pace; by holiday time we were a band of sixteen, enjoying our storytelling so much we weren’t ready to let it go. So when a blogging friend, Kate suggested I go into the New Year with a regular “Storytelling Sunday”, I was happy to give it a try. That first year it started small, with eight storytellers in January. But then it grew, thanks to an enthusiastic bunch who started to show up on the first Sunday of every month to share a funny story about daily life or some family history: anything they want to record. I wrote my post and invited bloggers everywhere to post their own story, to come back and link it up and to use the links left by others to enjoy a good read. As it took off I began to realise what we were all gaining so much from taking part. I was getting emails from storytellers telling me how much they were enjoying the sense of community and how they were discovering new blogs and finding inspiration for their scrapbooking.

So that encouraged me to spread the word and reach out to new bloggers.

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I wanted everyone to feel welcome – still do! – and for Year Two I came up with “The Words, The Pictures”: one photo and a couple of sentences as a quick way to tell your story. More photographers joined: over fifty bloggers spinning yarns, dropping in and contributing over 500 stories in 2012. To keep us going I shook things up again for 2013 with Storytelling Sunday 3: Pick Your Precious”, which focuses on the stories behind objects we love, what we might save if we had to leave in a hurry. Several of our most moving stories have been posted this year as we explore what we hold dear. But we like to laugh too: out loud, thanks to some fine comic writers! And it’s a privilege to play host to news of pregnancies, jobs and more: as the community has grown, we have started to look out for each other through the month too.

As scrapbookers we’re all storytellers looking for ways to add words to our pages. Storytelling Sunday is about grabbing that chance. Making time one day a month to set down a story so it’s there: done, ready to scrapbook. And it’s about meeting up with friends, imagining we’re gathered round the same kitchen table: telling stories in turn, listening too.

Come and join us! Bet you’ll meet somebody too. This year we are celebrating our small stuff. Pick Your Precious asks you to choose something you love from around your house and tell us the story. Anything at all!

At the end of the year you’ll have a permanent record of some of your favourite things. It’s hugely rewarding when I get an email to tell me a blogger has met a new friend through following a Storytelling Sunday link. jotmagazine.com 88

top tips for setting up a linky party on your blog >> 1. If you want to encourage bloggers to gather round what you are writing, pick something you can be passionately persuasive about. Sounds obvious, but worth some thought. Leave a lot of love. I visit everyone and hope my comments show how much they are appreciated. 2. Publicity: I want to bring our storytellers as many visitors as I can, so I put the word out on forums. I publish a reminder on the Sunday before. I know this works because I get “thank you for the reminder” emails! And choose a day that’s easy to remember. 3. Encourage participants to explain clearly what they are joining in with. Think: if you arrive at a blog, read a post and underneath it simply says “I’m linking to..” you won’t go looking for the details. But if it says “This is an enjoyable opportunity to meet new bloggers and I join in every month”, then you might try to find out more. If you can persuade your linkers to visit each other, that’s even better. It’s about building community. 4. Keep connected all month with a permanent information page on your blog. 5. Research linky services and choose the right one for you. I use a subscription service so I know help is there if I need it. I use Linky Tools. 6. Respond to what your bloggers want. Don’t be afraid to change the rules! I was asked to suggest story themes. Not everyone uses them and I’m happy with that too. Test your ideas and don’t be afraid to give it a go. It’s worth it!


The

sewing box>>

Sian Fair shares her January Storytelling Sunday post with us. Read more here on Sian’s From High In The Sky blog.

This one sits safely tucked away on a shelf in my wardrobe. It has travelled with me from house to house since I was five years old; and I last used it about two weeks ago. Round about the time I started school, my Mum gave me a sewing kit. She made it herself from an old box covered in one of her dresses and filled with everything I might need. I remember pulling out the knitting needles first of all, and my Grandma volunteering to teach me. There was fabric, too: a piece of 1960’s pastel paisley I thought was too nice to touch; and, over the years, bits and pieces came and went as I made use of my box. I sewed a piece of bright red cotton into a top to go dancing in when I was seventeen, and then my box was almost empty, so I filled it with my teenage collection of plastic: you know, a 1980’s thing?

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By then my sewing kit was too big for my childhood box: it became - I guess you could call it- a time capsule of tat: my teenage treasures. So, just before Christmas, My daughter arrived home from town:- eyes sparkling, arms full of parcels - after a shopping trip with a friend. She had got everything she needed, she said, but she had run out of money right at the end, with the scarf shop in sight. You know the one? With the Indian scarves? And the jewellery? And the funny smell?

Wait! I said, and I ran for my box. Inside, I knew, was a silver snake bangle I had bought from that shop when I was exactly the age she is now. I gave it to her, of course, and she liked it. Some things don’t really change. I went looking for it again in her room yesterday, to take a photo; but know what? It wasn’t there. She’d gone out wearing it. I’m thinking maybe I’d better see what else that box has to offer. If only I’d kept that red dancing top.

Oh. Yes. I knew the one. Because when I was fourteen I had come up to the city with a map, drawn by an adventurous friend who knew how to find this particular notorious emporium: down a dark alleyway, past the oldest pub in town, underneath a tattoo parlour It has moved now, I’m pleased to report, easier and safer to find, though still with the same array of teenage delights. So you didn’t buy anything? I asked. No, she said sadly and turned to go and put her shopping away. jotmagazine.com 90

Visit Sian here on her blog:

From High In The Sky.

From High In The Sky blogger and Sunday Storytelling creator, Sian Fair lives in the UK with her husband, teenage son and daughter. “I was born in the city, brought up in the country and now I seek out the sea whenever I’m able,” Sian says. Her blog is filled with scrapbooking, sewing and her stories are sometimes nostalgic and usually light hearted.


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make. share. move. inspire


Did you take the challenge? Head to our CHALLENGE PAGE to share your Kim Stewart inspired collage cards.

paper

collage

cards>>

Use up your paper offcuts and create gorgeous collage style gift cards. Jot girl Kim Stewart shows us how it’s done. PROJECT + PHOTOS | Kim Stewart

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Lavender Collage Cards Kim Stewart - The Jot Team

There’s just something fun about collage. It’s a chance to play with random things such as fabric, paper, painted strips, glitter, and all sorts of fun mediums and the options are truly endless. It’s so easy to whip up a few quick gift cards using my collage techniques. jotmagazine.com 94

1

how to make a basic collage card Gather your supplies together. I grabbed my scissors, glue and a few plain cards and got to work. This is a great project for using up your offcut pieces of paper left over from other projects.

2

Choose your papers and cut each into squares, roughly the same size. Arrange your squares in random order and glue to your card front.


1

2 3

3

4

Head to the sewing machine and stitch them in place. Have fun with your stitching -- machine stitch around and around the border of your paper squares or add random stitched lines all over your card. Decorate your cards by adding stamped sentiments, fabric flowers and ribbon.

What I like most about this technique is that if I choose a certain colour palette, when it comes to the papers and embellishments, I can create a collection of cards with a cohesive coordinated look. Plus, they are super easy to make! jotmagazine.com 95

4

>>What I used: • A selection of patterned paper offcuts including random painted and glittered papers, Japanese papers plus some ribbon offcuts. • alphabet stamps + ink pad • craft store flowers • chipboard letter stickers - I’ve used American Craft’s fabric thickers.


what are you doing at 5pm?

gallery>> What’s 5pm like in your household?

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“@ 5pm”

at 5pm

Raquel Bowman, The Jot Team

I wanted to challenge myself to create a layout where I have used only pocket style scrapbooking cards instead of patterned paper. I have used a selection of MAMBI, SNAP and Pebbles cards in 3x4 and 4x6 size to build up my background.

See step by step how Raquel put her layout together here on the JOT BLOG>> SUPPLIES | Papers: White card stock, Black card stock, MAMBI Pocket Pages, Pebbles Inc. 4x6 Journal Pad, Simple Stories SNAP 4x6 Just the Basics Paper Pad. Embellishments: AC Thickers, A Piece of Cake Designs Cherry Flair button, Amy Tangerine Stickers, American Crafts flower, Studio Calico wood veneer, Prima arrow rhinestones, Glitz Designs Die Cut Typewriter, D-lish Scraps flowers, resin and washi tape, Pink Paislee rub ons, Elle’s Studio Tag, Basic Grey die cut. twine.Other: Typewriter, sewing machine and black thread, Tim Holtz tiny attacher and staples, American Crafts roller stamp and black ink.

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at 5pm

5pm

Wendy Morris - The Jot Team

I used repetition on the number “5” with the theme of 5pm in my layout. SUPPLIES | Papers: October Afternoon, Jenni Bowlin, Studio Calico, Basic Grey, Simple Stories, watercolor paper: Master’s Touch Transparencies: Maya Road, Basic Grey. Stickers: Crate Paper, Simple Stories, American Crafts. Mediums: Mist: Studio Calico - Taxi, Watercolors: Milan, Ink: Ranger - Archival Ink - Jet Black, Pen: Sharpie - Teal Blue. Stamps: Hampton Art, KI Memories Flashback Collection - Tick Tock, Technique Tuesday, Studio Calico, Elle’s Studio. Embellishments: Rubons: Basic Grey, October Afternoon, Flair Button: Studio Calico, Wood Veneers Shapes/Letters/Numbers: Freckled Fawn, Studio Calico, Project Life: Becky Higgins - Midnight Collection, Metal Clock: Advantus - Tim Holtz, Enamel Dots: My Mind’s Eye, Washi Tape: Freckled Fawn, Advantus - Tim Holtz

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“5pm Today” Magda Mizera - Poland “I’m loving my afternoon breaks. The day I took this photo was very very hot and my only rescue was cold lemonade and.. a cake with berries!”

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts Papers: Glitz Design. Alphabets: American Crafts, thickers. Embellishments: Glitz Design, Fancy Pants Design

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Visit Magda’s blog here.


17.00

Nita Vleeming, The Netherlands

We have just returned from a nice stay in Danmark. The last day there I had made some notes about our stay and it was exactly on 5pm ( or such as we say in Europe 17.00) SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill Papers: Bo Bunny. Embellishments: Design House Digital journaling card from Audrey Neal, speech bubble sticky notes from Kikkerland Design Inc. Other: typerwriter, sewing machine

Visit Nita’s blog here

“5pm”

Sheena Rowlands, UK

As the clock strikes 5 you will always find me in the kitchen preparing our tea. We eat early together as there are so many evening activities the children like to take part in. I realised I’d never thought to document why we eat so early so thought I’d have fun with this page. SHEENA’S BLOG>> SUPPLIES | Papers: Crate paper, Basic Grey, Glitz, Fancy Pants, Prima. Alphabets: Ki memories, Sassafras. Other: doily, washi tape, sequins, music paper, children’s play cutlery.

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“5pm homework hell� Amanda Hall - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill flat. Paper: October Afternoon, American Crafts - Amy Tangerine, Me and My Big Ideas Other: circle punch, thread, Kaisercraft grid stamp, ink, washi tape, Simple Stories stickers, Simple Stories letter stickers, chipboard arrow, American Craft thickers (red dots), Jilly Bean Soup apple and star stickers Font: Alte Haas Grotesk.

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“5pm frenzy”Anna Allan - The Jot Team This layout is slightly different to what I usually do and at first glance it looks rather busy and I didn’t know if I liked it. BUT I realised that it does correctly display what 5pm (and the next couple of hours) is like in our household – constant and somewhat busy - the evening routine begins – bath, tea, clean-up, bedtime. So I think this layout can definitely warrant being named – 5 O’clock Frenzy!

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: kraft. Papers: DCWV adhesive paper, Echo Park ‘A Perfect Summer’. Alphabets: Lily Bee Design ABC stickers, Alphabet sheets from Studio Calico Project Life Kits. Embellishments: Typehouse felt numbers, Kaiser Collectables butterfly, bird, branch and circular ‘welcome home’ motifs, stamp sets from Studio Calico Project Life Kits, Photo Freedom Label Stickers, paper frames by Studio Calico, SN@P! Studio by Simple Stories round sticker. Other: Mister Huey’s Colour Mists – Opaque White, journaling pens – black, brown, & white, Number 5 stencils (made by myself), twine, date stamp.

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speech bubble

gallery>>

Speech bubbles - they’re everywhere at the moment on cards, layouts and gracing Project Life pages. Let’s take a look at how to add a speech bubble or two to your next project.

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“4 Months”Mardi Winen, Support Team

SUPPLIES | Papers: Lily Bee Design, Studio Calico, Echo Park. Stickers: Sassafras. Embellishments: Freckled Fawn – wood grain frame, Simple Stories – speech bubble, October Afternoon die cuts, Cuttlebug cut numbers. Other: Mister Huey’s colour mist – black

Machine stitch to highlight parts of your layout. Here Mardi has stitched around the number 4 to celebrate little Brayden turning 4 months old. jotmagazine.com 105


“Can’t Beet That Smile.”

Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot Team

I’ve stamped “hello there” in black ink onto the same tissue paper that backs my photo. Then I have glued it onto the page. It’s fiddly, it rips but... I like it like that!

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts and Bazzill. Alphabets: American Crafts. Stickers: Simple Stories. Embellishments: Dymo, Labeler Tape: D-lish Scraps, Flair: The Greatest View, Wood Veneer: Studio Calico, Enamel Dots: My Mind’s Eye. Inks/Stamps: Cocoa Daisy, Mist: Dylusions from Ranger. Other: Tissue Paper, Pen

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“I love puns and love a title that allows me to be creative with words.”


“Daddy’s Arms”Anna Allan - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Papers: KaiserCraft Cardstock: green cardstock, white cardstock. Alphabet: Image Tree Wooden Rubber Stamps, silver alphabet stickers. Embellishments: Kaiser Collectables branch motif, ‘Real Life’ adhesive badge by Studio Calico, tissue paper, Simple Stories “Vintage Bliss sticker, washi tape. Stamps Studio Calico. Date stamp, Stampin’ Up stamp pad - Basic Gray, Versa Colour mini stamp pad - silver, Colour Box pigment brushpad - Frost White,

“I love the addition of speech bubbles to layouts - it makes it so much more conversational and can add some humour here and there.” jotmagazine.com 107


“Hello”Yana Smakula - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Papers: My Mind’s Eye Embellishments: My Mind’s Eye: chipboard pieces, tags, brads, enamel dots. Washi tape: Echo Park Stamps: Technique Tuesday. Other: Ink: ClearSnap Surfaces, Mist: Hampton Art (Ditto), pen: Faber Castell

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“This Moment”Lauren Hender - The Jot Team

I wanted this layout to blend and when I cut out my speech bubble I realized that I would barely be able to see it (a little too much blending going on) A splash of Heidi Swapp’s color shine did the trick, making the speech bubble stand out and giving it a little sparkle.

SUPPLIES | Papers: Sasafras, Kaiser Craft. Embellishments: Making Memories, Heidi Swapp, Amy Tangerine, Cotton.

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“Enjoy”Amanda Hall - The Jot Team SUPPLIES | Papers: Simple Stories, Glitz, Heidi Swapp. Cardstock: Bazzill. Embellishments: Silhouette speech bubbles, heart and moustache, washi tape, Kikki K stationery sticker set, Simple Stories SN@P ‘enjoy’ sticker, enamel dots, photo corners, chipboard arrow, Heidi Swapp mist, Words or Whatever chevron stencil Other: pin, thread, typewriter. Stamps: Ali Edwards stamp

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“Hello, smile”Moon Lee - Singapore “I mixed some hand-drawing and cut speech bubbles together! And I really love how they work with the photo of my lovely nephew!”

SUPPLIES | Papers: Simple Stories, Studio Calico, My Mind’s Eye, Jillibean Soup, transparency: Hambly Screen Prints Embellishments: American Craft. Inks/Mediums: gesso: Ranger, glimmer mist: Heidi Swapp/Tattered Angels

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“Picture Purrfect”Melinda Spinks This is Mr Wilson, our kitty cat having his fifteen seconds of fame. It’s not often a speech bubble makes its way onto a pet layout because.. well let’s face it, animals don’t usually talk in a printable language. However, when I spotted this speech bubble with the word ‘meow’ I knew it was perfect as Mr Wilson is inept at using the word ‘meow’. Plus, it was an added bonus I had a flair speech bubble with ‘strike a pose’ as that’s one thing this cat does proficiently!

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Doodlebug Patterned paper: Bella Boulevard. Embellishments: Bella Boulevard, Greatest View, Doodlebug. Inks/stamps: Hampton Art, Colorbox, Versamark. Other: Embroidery thread, Vellum

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Visit Melinda on her blog here>>


“I’m Not Going Bald”

speech bubbles

Anita Rodway - Tamworth, NSW

Product packaging is an inexpensive way of matting photos, cutting shapes from and adding extras layers to your page. A tray of watercolour paints make great ‘splats’ on your page and you then don’t have to own every spray ink colour available to be able to achieve this look.

SUPPLIES | Papers: American Crafts Amy Tangerine ‘Sketchbook’ collection papers, Love Elsie ‘Toby’ collection paper, Kaisercraft packaging. Embellishments: WOW chipboard, plaster joint tape, washi tape, Flutterby Designs tab cutout Stamps: Camera Stamp Other: Office works alpha rubons, Black India ink, Prima alphas, Smash pen, Flair button, water colour paints.

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Visit Anita’s blog here>>


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speech bubbles

Find our about QR codes and how they work here on the JOT BLOG>>

1st Words

Raquel Bowman - The Jot Team

I was inspired by fellow Jot Team girl Kim Jefffress and her use of QR codes. I thought using the codes would be perfect to document my little girl’s first words. To find out what QR codes are and how they work, check out the Jot blog here. SUPPLIES | Papers: White Cardstock, American Crafts ‘My Girl’ Papers, plain vellum. Embellishments: American Crafts Thickers, October Afternoon Mini Market Stickers, A Piece of Cake Designs Cherry Flair button, American Crafts stickers, Studio Calico stickers, Webster’s Pages bow, Studio Calico number clip, My Mind’s Eye mini word stickers, Webster’s Pages washi tape Stamps: Silhouette Cameo and Silhouette Cut Files, sewing machine and white thread, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and staples, Gelatos, Dropper.

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“Need To Make Cute Face” Tetiana Komarova - Ukraine

I wanted this layout to look free, happy and fun like my little boy is in the photo. I used lots of layers and bright accents to highlight the atmosphere. Playing with acrylic paints is one of my favourite things.

SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: MME, American Crafts, Echo Park Paper Co, Simple Stories. Embellishments: Acrylic Paint: Americana, Bazzill tape, The Crafter’s Workshop mask.

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Visit Tetiana’s blog here>>


RIGHT: Kraft speech bubble tags >>> Paper Ten. Shop here.

5

<<LEFT: “Hi” speech bubble flair.. APOCD shop here>>

speech bubble products for your projects.

Add a speech bubble or two (or more) to your next layout with these fun speech bubble products. ABOVE: Lunch box notes from Stationery Boutique >> Shop here

ABOVE: 365 days wood veneer speech bubble collection from Think Spring. >>> Shop here.

RIGHT: “Hello” rubber stamp >>> Wit and Whistle. Shop here.

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By Kim Archer


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snapping

a selfie..

gallery>> Not just for the teens, selfies are popping up everywhere on social media. Check out some of these “selfie� layouts

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taking a selfie>>

Teens love selfies! Add a collage of selfies to the one page to create a quirky and fun layout.

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“Oh Snap”Amanda Hall - The Jot Team SUPPLIES | Papers: Heidi Swapp, Simple Stories. Cardstock: Bazzill. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp banner, Simple Stories SN@P stickers, washi tape, Becky Higgins Project life Photo Op card, My Mind’s Eye camera sticker, Lily Bee Designs crown sticker, Glitz ‘hello my name is’ sticker, October Afternoon sticker. Fonts: Dymo Inverse, Pacifico, American Typewriter.

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“Well Hello”

Yana Smakula - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | My Mind’s Eye Chalk Studio line: patterned paper, printed chipboard, epoxy sticker, chipboard frame, layered sticker, tags, twine. Embellishments: enamel dots: My Mind’s Eye Cut & Paste line, Chipboard: Blue Fern Studios, Washi tape: Prima (black), Dovecraft (pink), Tiny word stickers: My Girls Paperie. Stamps: Hello Sweetheart 4 X 4 Stamp by Elle’s Studio. Other: pin, thread, typewriter. Stamps/mediums: Ali Edwards stamp, Embossing powder: American Crafts, Embossing ink: ClearSnap.

Jot Girl Jana has carried the “selfie” theme through by using this cute camera patterned paper for her layout from My Mind’s Eye. jotmagazine.com 122


“I Can Only Be Me.”

Stephanie Bryan - The Jot Team

Stephanie has used a manual typewriter to type out her journaling onto vellum that she’s slipped behind this slide frame.

SUPPLIES | Paper: Crate Paper. Embellishments: Ribbon - Crate Paper, vellum - office supply store; Tags - American Crafts, office supply store, Studio Calico. Alphabets: Crate Paper, Basic Grey. Other: typewriter, sewing machine.

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selfies gallery

Just A Random Selfie

Wendy Morris - The Jot Team

My title and layout came from my love of grabbing my iPhone to snap a selfie in the car before rolling to work. Sometimes I post my selflies to Instagram, Facebook, or send to my fiancé for a little light to his day. Project Life cards are fun to use not only in your Project Life page protectors but also in layering on your layout. I used the “Hello, Happy, I Love You” card and a library ledger card from Becky Higgins Project Life “5th & Frolic” collection in the layering on my layout. SUPPLIES | Papers: Sassafras - Starters - Prologue #11472. Embellishments: Diecut Borders: My Mind’s Eye, Project Life cards - Becky Higgins - 5th & Frolic, Metal & Leather Camera: Bead Landing, Glitter Ribbon Strip: American Crafts, Rubons: Creative Imaginations, Silver Foil Star Stickers: Z-International Inc, Wood Veneer Shapes: Studio Calico, Metal Photo Corner: American Crafts, Washi Tape: Sandylion - Inspirational Phrases. Alphabets: Jillibean Soup - Alphabeans, Glitter Chipboard Thickers: American Crafts - Dear Lizzy. Other: Mist: Maya Road Charcoal, Watercolors: Milan, Ink: Ranger - Archival Ink - Jet Black

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“Selfie Generation” Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot Team I printed my photo on to Kraft cardstock instead of photo paper which added a different colour and texture.

SUPPLIES | Papers + vellum: Studio Calico. Cardstock: Bazzill. Alphabets: American Crafts. Other: Labeler: Dymo, Labeler Tape: D-lish Scraps, paper doily: D-lish Scraps, Sequins: Cocoa Daisy, sewing machine.

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selfies gallery

“I Like Being Me” Magda Mizera - Poland I’m a photographer and I don’t like anyone to take photos of me. But I do love selfies, because when it’s a camera and me - it’s like a heaven :)

SUPPLIES | Paper: Glitz Design. Cardstock: American Crafts. Alphabets: Fancy Pants Design Embellishments: Glitz Design

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Visit Magda’s blog here>>


“Everyday Life”Loredana Bucaria - Naples, Italy This layout tells the story of my everyday - home, photography work, cooking, my iPhone the things that make my everyday. I have played with my Cameo to create the background and I love to fill each circle with paper and embellishments.

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Patterned Paper: Studio Calico kits Embellishments: Chic Tags, Jenni Bowlin - little stars. Alphabets: Basic Grey. Other: Silhouette Cameo, Sizzix circle framelits, Studio Calico stamps, chalkboard glimmer mist - Tattered Angels, Mister Huey’s opaque white mist.

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“Just Us”Sheree Forcier Support Team

selfies gallery

SUPPLIES | Papers: Amy Tangerine, October Afternoon. Fabric Paper: Amy Tangerine Embellishments: Wood Veneer Shapes: Studio Calico Alphabets: American Crafts Thickers. Stamps: Lawn Fawn. Other: buttons, trim, twine, Memento Ink, washi tape, stapler, index card.

Sheree’s layout features some old photos she found on her phone of her and her daughter Madi, taken while waiting for her boys to finish school. “ We’d often take selfies of the two of us. “ jotmagazine.com 129


“Love For Boots”

Loredana Bucaria - Naples, Italy

I love to take pictures of me in different ways, some details about me, my boots for example that I love so much! In this page I have played with gesso, chalks and stamps to create a different background.

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: bazzill. Patterned paper: ILS scrap from a kits de somni kit. Embellishments: wood feather- Studio Calico; wood chevron - Sodalicious, paper doily, Thickers - American Crafts, washi tapes from Studio Calico kits, pearls, labels - October Afternoon. Tools: Silhouette Cameo, Stampin’ Up chalks, Mister Huey’s inks, gesso, chevron mask - Studio Calico, stamps: Studio Calico.

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selfies gallery

“While Following My Dreams.” Adel Otto - Alberta, Canada

Selfies can be fun and goofy, but I took a selfie as an opportunity to remind myself to love my family more even during the busy season of being a teacher and following some of my career dreams.

itched We love the hand st ut. circle on Adel’s layo

SUPPLIES | Paper: “Sensational”, Fancy Pants Design, Crate Paper, My Mind’s Eye. Alphabets: Sn@p Studio, Embellishments: Freckled Fawn enamel dots, labels - Leeza Gibbons for Prima Marketing, Bo Bunny, My Mind’s Eye. Other: Heidi Swapp - Color Magic Banner and heart stickers, embroidery thread.

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“Quick Check”Gina Rodgers - Tasmania, Australia I found this cute selfie on my camera recently and thought it was a funny moment to scrap as my daughter said she was just checking her hair in the car. I’ve used an alphabet stencil and mists on the background and added a range of travel embellishments.

Visit Gina’s blog here>>

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts Paper: October Afternoon “Travel Girl”, Basic Grey Carte Postale, Heidi Swapp Serendipity, Studio Calico Atlantic. Embellishments: Basic Grey Library Pockets, Webster’s Pages Alpha Stickers, October Afternoon Travel Girl Stickers, October Afternoon Travel Girl, Washi Tape, Fancy Pants Tape Stickers, sequins Other: Citrus Twist Stamp, SODAlicious stencil, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists, Stazon Ink, Prima Ink, thread, Artline Pen

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selfies gallery

“Silly Selfies” Anna Allan - The Jot Team It’s entertaining to find unexpected selfie photos of the kids on your phone. So cute.

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Paper: Creative Memories, DCWV adhesive paper. Alphabets: Kaiser Squiggle Alphabet Clear Stamp set Embellishments: Greatest View flair, 3x4 journaling card + Basic Grey word arrows (Studio Calico Project Life Kit), washi tape from Pretty Tape on Etsy, twine Other: watercolour paint (black), Staz-On inkpad, stapler, journaling pen

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“Remember This”

Kim Stewart - The Jot Team

I take lots of selfies in the restroom at my job because of the lighting in there! hee hee It’s so bright and you don’t get those dark shadows that age you a little in photos. I took this one of me listening to pandora on my Iphone.

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Paper: hand painted page with punched butterflies, Crate Paper journal card, pink striped gift card + random shipping tags. Other: Alison Kreft overlay, vellum, crochet flower, craft store flowers, glittered clothespin.

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selfies gallery

“Around Here�

Stephanie Bryan - The Jot Team Stephanie has used her manual typewriter to add her journaling to a vellum offcut before stitching it to her layout.

SUPPLIES | Paper: Studio Calico. Embellishments: Chic Tags, Studio Calico stickers, Crate Paper Other: Mists from October Afternoon

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PROJECT LIFE

PocketPage

showcase>> Project Life/pocket style pages catching our eye.

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We love that Nathalie chose to use her Project Life pockets to document her family’s recent trip to Universal Studios.

Nathalie Leonelli California, USA

“I decided to document an event with both a traditional layout and a pocket page layout.”

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PROJECT LIFE

Nathalie has included some machine stitching around her photos and to keep some of her elements in place.

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Nathalie’s blog: An Ounce Of Creativity


Michele creates digital pages for her Project Life spreads and uses Photoshop Elements 11.

Michele Young Edinburgh, Scotland

“This page is pretty unusual for me in that there is a lot of orange. This is not a colour I tend to work with a lot but I think this is my favourite page I’ve created so far. I used “vellum” for all the journaling spots, which is simply white paper with the opacity amended to 50%.

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My pages tend to include a lot of brushes from Amy Tangerine and overlays from Ali Edwards.

I was running out of room to include the detail for the ice cream photo, so I added it to a vellum layer over the top of the photo. jotmagazine.com 141

PROJECT LIFE

I use Becky Higgins Project Life templates and this page has been created using a kit from Sweet Shoppe Designs called Those Who Want To Sing by Zoe Peam.


We love how Jenny has used the Project Life pocket pages to showcase her art pieces.

Jenny Rodda Victoria, Australia

“I am loving the whole concept of Project Life... both its simplicity and the amount of photos that you can fit into the pages.� jotmagazine.com 142


Jenny’s blog: One Vintage Day

PROJECT LIFE

“This Project Life page is about my art... and the absolute joy that painting brings into my life.”

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Sheena tends to hand journal on her tags for her Project Life spreads.

Sheena Rowlands Coventry, W. Midlands, United Kingdom

“I see Project Life as a way to use the stash I already own so I only buy a few supplies and try and incorporate memorabilia along the way.�

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Sheena’s blog: Sheena’s Scraps And Scribbles

PROJECT LIFE

“I work over the whole month rather than week by week and this seems to work for me and I add insert pages for special events, outings etc as I fancy.”

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Stephanie Bryan

Raleigh, North Carolina The Jot Team My usual style is to use a few layered digital templates and brushes before printing out my photos. I have found that I really like this process and it seems to save me a little time when putting my weeks together.

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PROJECT LIFE

SUPPLIES: Journal cards - Studio Calico, Chic Tags, Tags - Elle’s Studio, ribbon - American Crafts; alpha - Studio Calico; badge - Hello Forever; sewing machine; typewriter.

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Stephanie’s blog: Stephanie Makes


Kim’s blog: Glass Half Full

Kim Jeffress Queensland, Australia The Jot Team

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PROJECT LIFE

“Do you see that QR code on the right side of my double page spread? I have a QR reader app on my phone that allows me to download my youtube video’s web addresses and create codes for my videos. I then print the codes off and my reader takes me to my uploaded videos and I can view them.” jotmagazine.com 149


“This week was highly influenced by photos of flowers. I love that it’s mid winter and there are still lots of flowers around.”

Donna Meuli Auckland, New Zealand Week 29 – This week I was loving the school holidays, sunny winter days and the cheerful flowers around..”

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Donna’s blog: Inspiration Storyboard

PROJECT LIFE

The supplies Donna has used are: Becky Higgins Design A pages, Midnight Edition, Paislee Press journaling cards and elements, Studio Calico NSD freebie and the timeline element is by Ali Edwards and part of Hello Story class.

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Lory added splashes of red through her spread for this week as it was Valentine’s week.

Lory Bucaria Naples, Italy

“Project Life is amazing to tell about my life and to not forget what happens everyday!”

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PROJECT LIFE

“I adore to write about my life and the little stories that make my life a lovely life.”

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Loredana’s blog: Love. Scrap. Life


We love how Rebecca mixes full 12x12inch layouts with her pocket pages plus her layout is the perfect intro to her June pages in her Project Life album.

Rebecca Keppel Gilbert, Arizona. USA.

“I made a 12 x 12 page for the left side and used the Simple Stories Pocket Pages for the right.�

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Rebecca uses photo app, A Beautiful Mess to add text and frames to her photos.

The Simple Stories pocket pages are perfect for adding Instagram square sized photos to Project Life.

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PROJECT LIFE

Rebecca’s blog: My Cluttered Corner


spotted...

Every issue we feature a layout or paper project that has caught our eye. This issue we take a look at this breathtaking layout from Sandra Dietrich from Germany.

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: American Crafts. Embellishments: Dear Lizzy American Crafts and Studio Calico.

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living a

creative..

life>>

craft | food | home decor | stories | projects | healthy living

www.etzceteramagazine.com.au jotmagazine.com 157


Aimee Dow Newly married Aimee is tackling Project Life for the first time this year.

aimeec27#

blog

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Aimee’s Instagram feed is filled with beautifully photographed pieces of her home life, Project Life pages, her baking escapades, family life and travels. Look out for the clean, simple lines of her Project Life pages and her delightful baked goodies. Her kitchen must smell soooo good!


InstaGLAM

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Jot

next issue..

[coming in November]

it’s Christmas time www.jotmagazine.com

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