Monthly Archives: November 2010

Well…it’s coming up on December so you’ll be getting your new Little Black Dress scrapbook kit here shortly. It’s going to be just as fun as always so you’re welcome to be excited about it! But…if you haven’t yet dug into your November kit you need to get on it! And we’ve got plenty of fabulous project ideas pouring in from the LBD Design Team members.

This is Francine’s Inspiration Banner. You won’t get exactly how fabulous it is unless you take a close look so click on the pics and get an up close look at all her little additions!

Here you’ll notice that Francine used cutout “banner” pieces made of vintage book pages between each WhatNot based section. They’re all held on by tiny paper clips (not included in the kit) and attached to a piece of twine (also not included in the kit).

Francine hung her Inspiration banner across a bookshelf. I love that it’s a versatile addition that could be added to almost any decor scheme and that it actually lives up to it’s  name. It would be a great source of inspiration on a day to day basis.

Francine combined different embellishments from the kit in a way that gave the banner a layered look without leaving them looking cluttered. Try putting together your own version and send it in so we can check it out…info @ littleblackdresskitclub.com.

This is Francine’s Every Day in November 12×12 Layout.

I really enjoy the splashes of color that seem to crop up in Francine’s scrapbook designs like in this layout the green polka page with the floral design. And above you can see how Francine used the Sold vintage piece accented by glittery green tulle and a red button (all from the November Lucky in Love kit) to provide her a journaling space on the layout.

Here’s another look at the page showing the title and the journaling.

It’s Going to be a Good Day! The title is so important for many layouts. We love that Francine combined an already complete chipboard sticker with the cream alphas included in the kit and accented it with the black flower included in the kit (many member’s favorite addition to the November kit).

Here you can check out Amy Heller’s 12×12 layout titled Christmas at 7 and Three. There’s nothing more fun than papers filled with numbers and words. They’re so versatile.

In these two pictures you can see a close up of a couple embellishments that Amy put together on the page. I love how Amy stitched a string of flowers on the layout and then worked with them to give them a 3d finished look.

This layout shows how fun the final layout can turn out when you work around your picture size and incorporate blocks of color and patterns. Amy added in different trims from the kit as well as cutouts (using a snowflake punch).

Amy’s Peace Christmas card is  one of my favorites so far this season. But then…I love the glam look she created with the gold trim finished off with the gold/black button.

The different color and pattern combinations makes it fun to create projects with the November kit. They work perfectly for Christmas projects without being too traditional leaving you feeling like you’ve come up with something that’s just the “same as always.” And it works for non-holiday projects as well.

This 12×12 layout also came from Amy Heller. It’s got a fabulous story behind it and you can garner a few details by checking out her journaling around the edge of the 12×12 layout.

The stitching around the focal point of the page is terrific as are the crystal embellishments (included in the kit).

Amy tends to work with a lot of stitching, twine and embellishments. We love how she mixes paper, fabric and brads/buttons in her embellishment clusters. It makes for a more interesting finished look!

Two Different Angles…Same Messed Up Proportions…I think we’ve all seen our fair share of interesting Christmas trees, and sometimes scrapping a story is important. And that’s just what Amy did in this layout. Don’t be scared to scrap about a story and use the pics that depict the scene whether there are “people” in the pics or not!

Have a good “story” based layout? We want to see! Send it in so we can check it out… info @ littleblackdresskitclub.com.

December kit info coming soon! Keep an eye out for details!

While November’s Lucky in Love Kit was not limited t the holiday season…it is a very appropriate kit for Christmas related projects as you’ve seen from some of the layouts already posted (and still more to come…)

Francine took it one step further for us and put together a tutorial so you’d be able to get the entire project detail by detail. We suggest adding your own touches here and there. This project will make a great addition to your general holiday decor or even as a garland adorning your tree!

Here’s Francine’s Christmas Garland project with the step by step instructions.

Supplies:

Patterned Papers and ephemera from kit
Brads, chipboard &real buttons and velvet flowers from kit
Circle punches or die cutting machine
Sewing Machine

Instructions

1. Punch or die cut as many circles in different sizes as you can stand to

2. Use your sewing machine to stitch them together. You can either sew them together in groups of two or three or singly. Simply let the machine run between the circles and just feed them in under the pressure foot. You can also stitch in the chipboard buttons

3. Hand stitch on the real buttons at random intervals

4. Add the brad in at random interval also. Use a 1/8″ punch to make a hole for the brads

5. Add the velvet flowers with a strong adhesive

This is a fabulous project that you can put together with the girlfriends late at night. I’m absolutely calling a girls’ night the next time I feel the need and I’m going to have all the girls put together their own Francine inspired circle garlands! Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Birthdays…it doesn’t matter what the event is…this is a great decor addition to add some festivity and fun!

Here’s Francine’s finished product:

Thanks Francine! We loved the project and everyone loves a good step by step tutorial!

Watch for more from Francine coming soon…

There’s something extra special about seeing an email from Jan come in with an attachment. It’s like Christmas Eve. I just know that something amazing and fun is coming my way. For instance…like this gift box by Jan H. Who wouldn’t love to see this under their tree? I don’t know if I’d even care what was in it!

Next Jan sent over her Cookies for Santa 12×12 layout. It is classic Jan with plenty of interest for even the most easily distracted viewer. I particularly love the circular background for the title. The Glitz Design What Nots add some ready made fun to the background. And let’s not ignore the fun border cut out addition on the green polka paper.

Jan’s Home For Christmas 12×12 Layout:

In this layout Jan took advantage of the picture’s angle to add a diagonal aspect to the page. The title and the journaling and the Glitz What Nots (such a fun addition to any page) are a great grouping. My favorite part of this layout is the extravagant floral embellishment cluster in combination with the open space around the edges of the page.  

How amazing are these pictures??? And how amazing is that background paper? It’s by Pink Paislee and we’re all amazed by the ink resistant design. It’s AWESOME! You ink the page and the design of the paper is evident as the doily pattern is an embossed, slick texture so that when you ink it it only gets “around” it. Now…besides the obvious…check out how amazingly detailed Jan’s layouts are. They’re so detailed that it’s almost shocking.

This page has so many fun aspects that I don’t even know where to start or where to head next! I have to point out the torn book page border. LOVE IT! And I absolutely love how detailed she got with the alphas. She used pop dots under each alpha. The stitching is another great, subtle addition that really makes a difference to the overall look of the page.

Don’t be discouraged by how amazing Jan’s projects are! These designers are all professionals. This is what they DO! And they do it so you can see it and copycat and get just as fabulous a result (after a bit of practice, that is). So jump in and give it a try!

And watch for more project ideas coming soon from Francine and Amy!

Actually…this layout doesn’t really have a title, but I labeled it for convenience sake! Amy put this 12×12 layout together to feature her little boy’s blue, blue eyes.

In addition to pieces from the Little Black Dress November, Lucky in Love, kit…Amy used:

- a piece of kraft paper left over from the October kit 

- a little extra bling

- border punches and snow flake punches from the new Christmas Martha Stewart line

Gotta love some classic Martha, right? Although…I stand by my opinion that she purposefully adds unecessary extra steps to the recipes on those handy dandy inserts in the magazine. They’re sometimes ridiculously difficult! (But yummy, dang it! I do have to admit that).

Anyway…check out the layout!

I do appreciate the fabulous snowflakes that Martha has made possible here on Amy’s layout. And I love the placement of the craft paper for journaling. It’s a great combination of elements to create a really great finished look. And I absolutely love the picx3 layout. So fun!

Amy’s got some extra special stitching tagging this layout. I love how it’s so subtle, but actually creates a terrific design there. And I also love her use of the old vintage card as the basis for her embellishment cluster.

This is where I pulled the made up title from for the layout. Don’t you just love how she mixed the alphas in to create the word she was looking for on the layout?

This close up shows the corner. Check out the layering. Isn’t it great how much interest in created by multiple layers? And I love the green polka as the main pop of color there. What a great paper
!

Francine had a total ball with the kit this month. I know that because she told me, but even if she didn’t…I’d be able to tell because you can see it in her projects! And she put together a nice variety so everyone will be able to pull an idea from her November kit project grouping.

But for today…for another greeting card. We saw Heidi Swapp’s Out to Lunch greeting card in the last post and here’s a greeting card that Francine put together with the Lucky in Love kit:

She calls it her “Joy” card. I love it! What a fabulous idea to use brads/buttons/other vintage items to generate the traditional Christmas tree shape that becomes the focus for this card. The little bit of book page makes up the tree trunk and then Francine added a tiny bit of tulle at the top that gives it some extra texture and fun at the same time. And, of course, she used the alphas from the November kit to create the title for the front of the card.

In this closeup you can see a bit of the pattern detail of the background paper which adds another layer of interest. I think this is a fantastic idea for those who put together holiday cards each year. It’s personal, it’s fabulous and it’s pretty doable (unless you are sending out a ridiculous amount of cards, that is).

Watch for more upcoming projects by Francine to be posted soon!