Making Memories

Inspiration from Joey

There are many ways to obtain inspiration. Sometimes, something so fabulous or unexpected or beautiful just hits us hard and inspires us. Other times, regardless of how many times we see something, we suddenly really SEE it and can be inspired. Today's inspiration comes from the latter of the two ways, from something we see many times a day.

Labels. They come in all shapes and forms and provide all manner of information. They show us what ingredients are in our breakfast cereal, or caution us about fumes and open flame at the gas pump. They even let us know what is to be expected about the contents of our box during shipping.

I like the look of these little providers of information as well as the way the label verbiage reads and so created my own labels for my title and sub-titles. Using the new Making Memories' felt alphas and mini shimmer alphas is a great way to make an impact. The biggest tip I can give for making sure alphabet stickers are straight and stay straight when adhered - is to use a ruler. Put the letters along the edge of the ruler, sticking just enough on to easily arrange and move as needed. Then, when you are satisfied with the spacing, lay the ruler flat and stick all the letters down at once. The overall look is very clean and easy to read.

Try looking at the labels around you a little different next time. Look for inspiration.

I used Making Memories' Passport Collection for these layouts. Check out Making Memories' website for more information about this collection.

Joey

Inspiration from Joey - Logos

This month's inspiration comes from that oh so recognizable Making Memories logo.

   

Logos tell us what the company is even before we can read the text. It's an instant recognition that we automatically assign a name and value to. The Making Memories logo is a beautiful color of green that can be used on anything. Whenever I see the Making Memories logo, I think quality, variety, uniqueness, and creativity.

On my page, I took that logo green and painted a chipboard "I" in reverse, so it mimcked the'letter in the box of the logo. I also painted the other letters in coordinating colors. If you look closely at the logo, you will see two "m's" - one behind the other and one each for Making and Memories. I took that idea of repetition and used the same paint colors to edge each of my pictures. Four letters and four pictures were repeated as well.

   

The very title of the logo "Making Memories" is exactly what we do, every time we create a page or project. We make memories. Try making some of your own memories using one of your favorite logos and see what kind of similarities you can come up with.

Joey

Inspiration From Joey

 

I've noticed that flowers are a huge inspiration in the scrapbooking industry. You see papers, ribbons, stamps, and embellishments in every shape, color, and form. Flowers are happy and pleasing and extremely universal because they can be used all the time.

Making Memories has an incredible variety and assortment of flowers so this month's challenge focuses on them. I wanted to create something that did not use paper - just fabulous embellishments from several different programs.

My page is very simple here, with a line of colorful, layered flowers. Sometimes, that is all you need, a punch of color to make your page your own.

Joey

To see Making Memories collection of blossoms, visit our website.

Inspiration from Joey

It's Earth Day today and a natural place to glean a bit of inspiration. I chose a picture of my daughter planting some flowers in our yard - beautifying the earth in her own little way. But recycling comes to mind as well so I decided to "recycle" some supplies and use them for a theme they were not originally intended. You will notice that my "grow" layout uses the Making Memories Travel program. The colors lent themselves well to this layout and a little sanding and inking gives them that grungy, get your fingers dirty feel. Look at your own supplies - many "themed" programs can be used across the board. I used some Colorboard Stickers (Discover & Memories) as well as an Embossed Stamp sticker (enjoy the adventure) that I felt added to the journaling. So what do you say? Let's help out mother nature and use some old supplies. Try grabbing "like colors" or do something wild for a more eclectic look. Who knows, you might end up stretching your abilities and "growing" a little.

 

Joey

To see more project ideas, visit Making Memories website.

Inspiration from Joey

Pick a color, any color. This is the inspiration for this month...my color? Yellow. It's been a long winter and even as I type this it is snowing outside my window. I miss yellow. I look forward to seeing bright, sunny flowers peeking through the snow, signaling a change is in the air. I miss the sun - actually warming my skin and brightening the day. Color is a huge and constant inspiration, probably the biggest one we use. I usually let a prominent color in my photos help me decide on the color palette. But this time, I picked the color first and used a picture I wanted, regardless if it matched. My "happy" layout is a small ode to Yellow. Try devoting your layout to the color of choice - it's quite fun and you might realize just how much you really like that particular color!

 

Here is the journaling from my layout:

"Happy is...yellow. How appropriate that this be a prominent color emerging from a frozen and white winter. Yellow daffodils and tulips pop their happy heads to show hope and joy in the birth of spring. Yellow is the color of the sun needed to sustain them and melt away the frost. Happy is… a beautiful daughter who knows who she is and exudes confidence like the color yellow. Yellow is a confident color – there's just no hiding it. Yellow is happy."

Joey

Inspiration from Joey

We've all seen them. The heart-shaped boxes of chocolates that line the supermarket shelves a little after the new year. They tempt us with their sweet insides and with the appealing red, foiled packaging that not only holds the possibility of love, should someone give us one, but also chocolate. Who needs love when there's chocolate I ask you?

Thus, we have February's Inspiration with Joey. I didn't feel I had to buy a box to photograph for the inspiration - we all know what they look like. With the theme being "things I love" I right away thought of my kids - the little sweeties (most of the time). I literally copied the idea of little chocolate sweets in a heart-shaped box for my page. I used the new Making Memories Love Story line for papers and embellishments. On a side note...have you seen the fantastic packaging for embellishments MM has? The little jars of goodies with paper flowers, lovely buttons, and felt die cut shapes. LOVE them. Anyway, I also used ribbon from the (note)worthy line and a strip of black pattern paper from the Halloween line along with pebble brads (I can't live without these - especially the black and white ones).

First, draw a heart on the back of black cardstock - use pencil and you can easily see your line. Cut it out along with around 16 pictures. I used a colluzle to cut my circles and varied the sizes slightly. I also cut 16 circles from pink and maroon cardstock in a slightly larger circle and used scallop scissors around the edges to make mats for the photos. Arrange the pictures on the heart and fill in any blank space with buttons, flowers, and brads. You could use fewer pictures and more embellishments too if you wanted. I sewed the gathered ribbon around my heart to make it really secure. Finally, assemble the page and add your journaling.

Have fun. This page reminds me of the fabulous quote from Forrest Gump: "Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get." Well said. You never know what you will get when you set out to create either! Joey

Inspiration From Joey - Organizing Your Thoughts

All month you have been learning various ways to organize your tools, embellishments, ribbon, and paper. Now it's time to organize your thoughts.

I am in dire need of a way to organize my thoughts so I decided that a weekly 9x9 inch journal might help. It is nothing intense or complicated - just a simple page with plenty of writing room to capture random thoughts and photos from the past week.

Here is my first page. I used the MM Noteworthy collection because it's gorgeous. I decided to use two small pictures from the past week that captures something about it that I want to remember. The key here is the journaling. I used the extra space to capture random thoughts. That's the way I like to journal because it makes the journal all the more 'me.'

Best of luck organizing your thoughts. If you have more idea on how to do that, let me know.

Joey

Inspiration from Joey

Inspiring ideas are all around us.  Sometime when you go looking for inspiration, it can be difficult to find. For those instances, which happen more often than not, I turn to packaging. Those little tidbits of guidance on the back of MM's packaging can be used for anything - not just the items inside the package. And, this is my source of inspiration for this month.

I found a layout idea that I really like from the MM's Halloween program - Word Fetti packaging. I liked the placement of the pictures and the fact that two photos were used, not just one. I liked how the spider webs looked like individual elements on the page.  That really caught my attention. I also liked the placement of the title and the "empty" space that was not filled with something.

You can see my interpretation of each of these elements on my "Ice Princess" layout. I used chipboard glitter flowers in place of the spider webs, added a few scalloped edges (to make it girly), as well as a two line title. The general layout is the same, but these few changes make it look totally different, and all mine.  Try digging out some old packaging and see what ideas inspire you.

Joey

Inspiration from Joey

Art and architecture is all around us, but unless you live somewhere with buildings over 100 years old, sometimes it's difficult to be inspired by them. For this month's inspiration, I decided to take just the simple geometric shapes of some of the buildings that I see on a weekly basis and incorporate them into a layout.

Here I found a Mexaplex building by my house that has a very appealing and balanced feel. The bottom third is a different color, helping to anchor the three rectangles at the top. This was very easy to use as inspiration for my layout.

Take a look around your area and find buildings and architecture that could be used for your inspiration.

Joey

Are you crafty? Sometimes I want to do something a little different and be crafty on my pages...really get down and create something from scratch. But, sometimes I just don't know where to start. Inspiration can come in the form of a simple design - a small flicker of an idea.

In my "cat" page, I came across a Halloween spider web on a shirt and immediately thought of being crafty! I decided to take the simple design and transport it to my page - using fabric paint to make the dots. The fabric paint comes in a nifty bottle that has a small and pointy top for easy dot creation. Some light pencil lines are all that was needed to keep the web lines straight. When using fabric paint, give yourself plenty of drying time and be extra careful not to smudge. Once the paint is dry, erase the lines.   I then added some embellishments from MM's Halloween collection to complete the look.

The final look is clean, simple, and a little creepy - just right for Halloween!

Joey

 

I love when the weather starts to change from the hot summer to mild fall days and cooler nights. The changing color all around is a big seasonal marker that autumn is just around the corner. But sometimes, those same browns, golds, and oranges get a little old and I look for a new color inspiration - a spark of something different and unexpected.

One of the best places to look for great color inspiration is clothing racks. The stores start going through a seasonal change as well, and new color combinations start popping up in warmer clothing options.

This color combo I found was just the inspiration I needed. With the familiar orange and brown, here is an added cool blue and green that updates my fall palette and gives me a great color combination to draw inspiration from.

I also liked the vertical lines of color in the hanging clothes and incorporated that feel in the vertical blocks of color along the bottom of this layout.

Other great places to look for color combos:

- The towel aisle; eye candy for great color combos

- Home decor; from cloth napkins to printed sheets - these are constantly being updated for tons of new options

- Ombre yarns from the craft store; fun colors all died together - sometimes unexpected and fun combos

So, share your great fall color combos by downloading them to the gallery - I'll be watching for some inspiration from you!

Joey

 

Signs are one of the most recognizable forms of communication around. Whenever I see a new one, I notice it right away, just like I did with this new sign I saw at Walmart. A couple of things really drew my eye...first the colors. I love black with pink (or black with any color really!) so this was a favorite right away. Second, the letters. Now, these kept me looking for a few minutes. I love how they are overlayed but carved out too - with a border in between. My first question - how can I do that on a scrapbook page?

I found a super easy way to create these same type of letters using stickers as shown on "Sunny" - a layout of my youngest daughter playing in the water.

1. Decide on the word you want to do and select some stickers that look good. I used these awsome MM stickers that have several sizes and font types all included. I like to take each sticker and lightly stick it on the edge of my table as I work.

2. Lay the first letter slightly over the second letter - or, if it looks better for the second letter to overlay the first, do it that way - and stick together.

3. Using a small, precise pair of scissors, trim around the overlaying letter. On curved letters, it helps to trim a little bit more, on straight letters, that's all you need to do.

4. Now, move on to the next letter and do the same until the word is finished and ready to stick to your layout or project!

I've shared with you, now you share with me - show all of us your creations using this fun technique by adding your version to the MM idea gallery!

Joey