Jot Magazine 1

Jot

paperCRAFTING

A

magazine

day memorykeeper

for the modern

documenting life. telling stories.

taking pictures. paper crafting.

Issue 9 2015

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Scribble and Mixart. prints. tutorials. classes

www.etsy.com/au/shop/scribbleandmix

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Welcome to issue 9 of Jot.

I feel like I say this every issue but I really love this edition of the magazine. It’s a visual feast of prettiness and goodness and interesting tidbits from our talented 2015 Jot Girls team as well as submissions from our wonderful contributors and writers.

And I had a load of fun pulling it all together.

Regular Jot writer, Sian Fair joins us again for her last instalment of her Scrapbooking Bucket List and her list again inspires us to jump out of our comfort zone and create layouts that encourage us to try something new. And indeed some of the Jot Girls tried new things as they each chose something from Sian’s list.

Well it’s back to school time here in Australia and regular columnist Shari Brewer joins us again for another Dear Diary and her own back to school stories. Youngest in the family, Gina is not adapting to school life as quickly as her brothers are. But while she declares she doesn’t like school at all and might be peeled off Shari’s legs each morning, Shari is thankful that Gina arrives home seemingly happy and with an empty school lunch box each afternoon.

I vividly remember my sister’s first day at school. She hadn’t quite turned five and was an active child who found herself in trouble on her very first day at school for running up the stairs. She scored a slap on the legs from her kindergarten teacher (what a meanie.. the late 70’s were SO very different back then) and so she decided she wasn’t staying there one minute longer.

And she ran away. Out of the school grounds and heading for home.

We didn’t have the phone on at home and the charm of a small town meant that the school rang our neighbour who picked mum up in her car and together they headed along the country roads near the school to find Debbie. My sister was an exceptional runner (right through school) and could run like the wind so had made good ground before mum and our neighbour eventually found her. They were directed along the way by several shop keepers and passers by who called out, “she went thatta way!” Eventually Debbie settled into school and sailed through the rest of school without any other issues but she always remembers that mean teacher and the slap she received by Mrs Lynch in kindergarten!

What was your first day at school like? We have a whole gallery dedicated to lots of different milestones including starting school, the first day of high school and fun ideas for your own back to school scrapbook layouts. Check out the gallery here on page 114And as always we have inspiration galore with lots of different galleries, a chat with Project Lifer Petra Corcoran and some awesome pocket page filler card ideas.

It’s all happening, so settle on in and enjoy Issue 9 of Jot.

Kim Archer | Publisher

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editor/art directorKim Archer

editorial assistantLisa Pate

writersKim Archer

Shari BrewerSian Fair

Contact Use: hello@jotmagazine.com

Published by Kim Archer ABN: 88 649 297 554

website: www.jotmagazine.com

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: hello@jotmagazine.com

submissions

2105 Jot Girls TeamYvette Adams

Leanne AllinsonMeghann Andrew

Anna AllanRaquel BowmanPetra Corcoran

Loredana BucariaAimee Dow

Natalie ElphinstoneSheree ForcierAmanda Hall

Lauren HenderKim Jeffress

Beshka KueserSharmaine Kruijver

Mel NunnJamie PateLisa Pate

Mardi WinenJodie York

Meet our Jot team here on the website>>

Connectwith us.

Grab a cuppa &head to our blog

for more Jot stories and inspiration.

or follow us on social media.

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in this issue.Back to School

Jot Girls Beshka Kueser and Leanne Allinson share with us some great ideas for making back to school filler and journaling cards

for your pocket pages.

Check it our on Page 152.

03 EDITOR’S LETTER06 QUICK LAYOUT Jodie York08 CONFETTI with Lisa Pate12 GALLERY Oh Deer 30 BUCKET LIST Sian Fair44 JOT SPOTTING - JOT GIRLS52 GALLERY Cut Files71 GALLERY Hand stitched101 GALLERY Sweet Babies114 STORY TELLING Back to School137 PROJECT LIFE Petra Corcoran 148 POCKET PAGE embellishments152 POCKET PAGE filler cards122 PROJECT LIFE GALLERY122 DEAR DIARY - Shari Brewer

012

030

052

034

101

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Jodie York

quick layout

Add a hand drawn border and some free hand drawn lines for your journaling.

How many times have you told yourself that you need to put more photos of YOU into your projects? Personally, I’m kind of shy in front of the camera. My comfortable place is definitely behind it. But, I really want to be in the projects that I create so that the stories that I tell are not only the stories of my children and their lives but rather the story of us and our life as a family.

Last year, while I was taking part in Ali Edwards One Little Word class I discovered a self timer app called Timer Camera. I think it’s fabulous because 1) you are given the option to choose up to 15 seconds to get ready for the photo; 2) there is a beeping sound each second so that you know long you have to prepare for the shot; 3) it’s an app for your phone and so you’ll always have it handy when needed and 4) it’s free!

I experimented with putting my iPhone on tables, on the ground, on top of furniture and leaning up against objects. You can capture some pretty cool angles resulting in some funky photos with you in it doing what you do.

I’ve used a white background to create a clean, fresh look.

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This photo was taken one morning while

I was having my morning coffee and checking emails for the day. A morning

ritual to kick start my working day.

YOUR CHALLENGE:

Why don’t you try it? Download the free Timer Camera app and have a play. Then put the photo that you are actually in (yay!) into a quick and easy layout or in your Project Life album. Try using minimal product and lots of words. Write about you. Now there is something different.

Share your work on our facebook page here.

SUPPLIES | 12x12 white smooth cardstock from Bazzill Basics Paper, ‘Coffee, Create, Sleep, Repeat’ stamp from Kellie Stamps, black felt tip Artline pen, 3x4 and stickers from Far Far Away Project Life kit from Studio Calico, wood veneers from Studio Calico, punched vellum and patterned paper stars from my scrap stash.

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confettilittle bits + pieces from around the web. Curated by Kim Archer + Lisa PateToday’s theme // Happy deer ideas.

Button Up DeerFeaturing a soft colour palette and tiny stitching detail, these hand crafted buttons from Love Lui are too cute! Shop here>

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Oh My Deer

Deer Ones

Here at Jot Magazine we LOVE a good tutorial. Chelsea from Lovely Indeed will have you hand carving your own stamps in no time. Find Chelsea’s tutorial via the Poppy Talk website here>

Deer Stampede

If you love a smattering of cute wooden embellishments you can’t go past these adorable tiny buttons from Craft Queen. Find them here>

Still can’t get enough flair buttons? Neither can we! Visit Becky’s Buttons for this Deer themed set right here >

Hello DeerSay hello with a handmade card. Debby’s use of a strong silhouette and bright colour pops make for a happy card, any friend would be thrilled to receive. Visit Debby’s blog, Lime Doodle Design here>

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Patey Girl blogger Lisa Pate lives with her family by the lake on the

central coast of NSW. She loves lots of colour, getting messy with paint, creating mixed media art,

scrapbooking and thrift shopping

CONFETTI

Pretty pink polka dot thank you tags to warm anyone’s day. From The Paper Birdcage - shop here>

thank you my deer

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ohThere’s some delicious deer products floating around at the moment and finding their way onto paper projects everywhere!

In this gallery we look at ways to add a deer or two to your next project including deer themed papers, embellishments and even deer subject photos!

DEER

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I love deers so much I keep trying to figure out different excuses to include them on my projects. Christmas is easy, but at other times of the year I have to be a little more imaginative. Apart from the cute factor, I thought the deer on this layout could represent the way I think about my two girls.. they’re my deer-est!

Natalie Elphinstone - The Jot Teama year with you

SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Teresa Collins, Fancy Pants, Bella Blvd, Studio Calico, October Afternoon. Cardstock: American Crafts. Embellishments: October Afternoon Alpha Stickers, Studio Calico Silver Triangle Stickers, Studio Calico Wood Veneer, Studio Calico Cork Embellishment, Studio Calico Acrylic Heart, Studio Calico Printables. Other: Studio Calico Mister Huey’s, Studio Calico stamp, sewing machine

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Studio Calico. Cardstock: Bazzill. Alphabets: American Crafts, Studio Calico. Embellishments: Craft Origine stamps, American Crafts stamps, Twine & Ink enamel dots, Knot & Bow ribbon, Studio Calico twine, Teresa Collins sequins, Studio Calico frame, Studio Calico tag. Other: ink - Studio Calico & Stampin’ Up!, Big Shot - Sizzix, stapler - Tim Holtz, embossing die - Stampin’ Up!, deer - Studio Calico.

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I love using supplies in unusual and/or different ways. The deer fits perfectly for a pet related page. I also changed the title from ‘oh dear’ to ‘oh deer’ as a fun way to add little details to a layout.

Janna Werner - The Jot Teamoh deer

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Anna Allan - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Bazzill 12x12” cream cardstock, Crate Paper Maggie Holmes ‘Open Book’ range - papers and embellishments, American Crafts gold glitter Thickers, cotton, stapler, printer, Heidi Swapp Colour Shine - gold and blush, sewing machine and thread.

oh “deer” meI just love deer. I couldn’t go past the Maggie Holmes ‘Open Book’ range to use for this theme. And when I snapped this photo of my little one, I knew that it was destined for this page. This kid...such a sweet little face yet so stubborn and strong-willed in nature. She’s a challenge - but, oh ‘deer’ me. We love her to bits!

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I used the new Heidi Swapp Minc Foil applicator and the WRMK antler die to cut out my deer shape!

Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Heidi Swapp, Pink Paislee. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp Minc foil applicator, Reactive foil, Minc banner and paper, clear overlay, chipboard word, Wood Veneer, frame, puffy heart Sticker, word stickers, ColorShine. Jillibean Soup Letters We R Memory Keepers Antler die.

love cupcakes

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Meet Paul. He is from the land of Ikea. This delightful deer captured the imaginations of our girls and was the character in many stories told as we travelled on our recent holiday. Obviously becoming one of those “had to be there” moments that needed to be recorded.

Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Alphabets: American Crafts, Chickaniddy. Embellishments: Project Life - Becky Higgins chipboard, Evalicious puffy sticker. Other: Typewriter, ink, mist, Silhouette Cameo, watercolour paint, pencil.

deer paul

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I have to admit this is the first time I have used a deer shape on a project. And I have to say I am a bit smitten. It’s such a very sweet icon and brings a layout together in such a sweet way.

Jamie Pate - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Heidi Swapp Hello Today patterned paper; Canson Water color paper; Maggie Holmes Styleboard Vintage Frames, Cardstock shapes; Dear Lizzy Serendipity Cardstock shapes; JMPGirl Designs deer cut file; Heidi Swapp clear stamps, sequins, Gold Color Shine.

misc. photos

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: American Crafts, Simple Stories, Crate Paper. Alphabets: American Crafts. Hello Die: Stampin’ Up. Punch: American Crafts. Embellishments: American Crafts, Heidi Swapp arrow and chip frame, My Minds’ Eye Chipboard, Echo Park Chipboard. Other: twine, button, sewing machine, stapler, embroidery thread, plain white card.

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On our trip to New Zealand a couple of years ago the kids got to see these amazing deer at a farm we visited for a wedding reception. They were totally in awe of these beautiful animals!

Sheree Forcier - The Jot Teamhello deer

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Amanda Hall - The Jot TeamI’ve always loved the little Sass Lass deer - particularly in wood grain. I was thrilled to find this one and he seemed to fit in well with the soft florals on this page. I wanted him to stand out - hence the busy-ness in all but the corner that the deer is in.

enjoy

SUPPLIES |Patterned papers: Typo. Cardstock: Bazzill. Embellishments: MME chipboard banner, Kikki K stickers, Pink Paislee foil stickers, Heidi Swapp chipboard heart and title, Sassafras Lass deer, pink label. Other: Labeller - date stamp, ink, cotton thread.

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Yvette Adams - The Jot TeamI love deer! My mum gave me this thin wooden Christmas decoration, thinking I’d like to turn it into a brooch. I already have (gasp) five deer brooches, so it was a simple decision to use it on a Christmas layout.

lights

SUPPLIES | Alphabets: unknown (from a discount store). Embellishments: Freckled Fawn stickers and clip. Other: Music paper, Christmas decoration, ephemera, velvet, wool, glitter, button.

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Sandra Bunch, Brisbane Australia

I have used the Kellie Stamps deer stamp as a colourful background for this home décor shadow frame that sits in our entrance. The “B” is for Bunch of course.

B

SUPPLIES | White cardstock, Kellie Stamps stamp, Stampin’ Up! inks, Jac paper, Martha Stewart Crafts glitter.

Everyone loves a little bit of sparkle and we love Sandra’s glitter framed letter B!

We love...

Sandra’s blog

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I loved this picture of my daughter because she looked so sweet, but also because it gave me a chance to play with bold patterns and unique embellishments such as the deer head.

Michelle Palmer - California USA

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned Paper: Crate Paper and Studio Calico. Stickers/alphabet: Crate Paper. Stars-Simple Stories. Other: twine, sequins, doily, tag, spray ink.

amaze

Michelle’s blog

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My layout is about a “meeting” with a deer in Yosemite Park and features themed paper from Paper House Productions.

mountain manGiorgia Rossini - Italy

SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Paper House Productions. Cardstock: Bazzill. Embellishments: Paper House Productions. Die cutting machine and dies: Sizzix. Other: white gel pen.

Giorgia’s blog

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Irina Honcharyk - BelarusMy layout is about one wonderful little girl who believes in miracles and loves to smile.

hello hello

SUPPLIES | water color paper, some paper for scrapbooking, water colors, black ink, cutting (snowflakes, feathers), chipboard, thread, oil pastel.

Irina’s blog

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SUPPLIES | Gossamer Blue - Get Happy wood veneer shapes. Webster’s Pages - All that Glitters paper. Studio Calico essentials gold hearts. Crate Paper gold doily. Epiphany clear round caps. Heidi Swapp colour shine spritz gold.

To match a non traditional Christmas photo of my daughter I was inspired to create a non traditional Christmas layout and who could ignore the Oh Deer paper.

Rachel Lowe - Perthhappy holiday

Rachel’s blog

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Using lots of layers plus a cute “deer” chipboard embellishment, Giorgia has used themed paper to create her layout about meeting deer in Yosemite Park.

SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Paper House Productions. Embellishments: Paper House Productions, Echo Park, Pinque Peacock. Alpha: Glitz, Stamperia. Other: paper doily.

the great outdoorsGiorgia Rossini - Italy

Giorgia’s blog

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STORY + PHOTOS | Sian Fair

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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.

bucketscrapbooking

listA scrapbooking bucket list? Call it a once in a lifetime opportunity! Maybe you’ve been scrapbooking for years now and it’s all starting to feel a bit Groundhog Day? Or maybe you’re just starting out?

Either way, challenging yourself to try something you’ve never considered before is a great way to set yourself on a new creative path: the more difficult the challenge, the greater the possibilities. Trust me. Because, don’t forget, if it doesn’t work, you don’t have to do it again. But do try it once, just to see how it fits.

What’s on the list this time?

part three!

Sian’s blog

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six more things to tryRemember, you won’t know if you like an idea until you try.

• A page which isn’t a story or an event. Instead use it to record a way of doing something – a recipe, a set of instructions for a craft project, some tips passed down in your family. If you aren’t feeling inspired to scrapbook your story, an album of “notes and useful things” might be for you.

• A page with BAD photos! The worst you can bear to use. Think about whether you are working harder to tell the story because of the pictures - are you trying to draw attention away from them? How does that make you feel? And how does it make you feel about your reaction at the end. How important are the photos? Do you rely on them?

• A page which uses the title as the journaling. No more words: you have to pack it all into the title. Time to scrapbook a tweet, maybe?

• A page in a colour you don’t like. Maybe you don’t have any other layouts based around it. Can you enjoy making it because after all it’s the story which matters, or does it get in the way of enjoying the creative process?

• A page with no colour at all. How do you create a focal point? Are you going to think more about texture and the shapes you use? Okay, then, maybe a little Kraft, but nothing else. Black, white, kraft.

• A page which is a combination of lots of the things we’ve talked about in Bucket List (see Jot 7 for Part One and Jot 8 for Part Two)– pull together several ideas and make a thoughtful Bucket List page about where you are with scrapbooking right now. What do you get from it? What has it shown you about yourself? What plans do you have for your scrapbooking future? Make a scrapbooking page about scrapbooking.

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I chose to make a page about scrapbooking: seven years after I discovered it, this is where I am now.

By Sian Fairscrap

SUPPLIES | Patterned Paper: Pebbles, Gossamer Blue; Vellum: American Crafts; Alpha: Making Memories; Die cuts: Crate Paper; Cork: Gossamer Blue; Puffy stickers: Evalicious; Ink: October Afternoon.

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Sian invited some of the Jot Girls to take up her Bucket List Scrapbooking Challenge and here’s what they came up with.

jot girlswhat the

created

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Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot Teampopcorn?I don’t know if Sian intended the no colour prompt to be used with a colour photo but that is what I did. I did struggle with the lack of popping colours but made up for it by using different layers of texture.

SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: We R Memory Keepers. Cardstock: Bazzill. Alphabets: American Crafts. Embellishments: Flutterby Designs flair, Cocoa Daisy “Day in the life” card, The Crafter’s Workshop stencil. Other: Watercolour paint, ink, texture paste, typewriter.

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Kim Jeffress - The Jot Teamcreate adventureI chose the bad photos prompt. These photos were taken recently on my trip to the US with my friend Gail. A group of friends took us to a strip mall to a few craft shops and we were totally excited. It was at night so the photos were not such good quality but I really wanted to get the memory down. I chose to turn one photo black and white because the colours really clashed with everything else.

SUPPLIES | Cardstock : Bazzill Basics, Patterned paper : Heidi Swapp Embellishments Heidi Swapp, Marquee Tape, Wood Veneer, Word Stickers, Chipboard stickers, Color Shine, Die, Bella Blvd Tape, We R Memory Keepers die.

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Meghann Andrew - The Jot Teammy baby you’ll be

When I saw this photo, I was reminded of one of my favorite books to read to my daughter, Love You Forever, and decided that I would use the words from the story as my title and journaling. They really sum up my feelings for her, and this photo. I stamped the majority of the title and added the black foam letters for contrast.

SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Crate Paper (pink & floral), My Mind’s Eye (polka dot). Cardstock: Bazzill Basics. Stamps: Scraptastic Club (phrase), Studio Calico (alphabet). Embellishments: American Crafts (foam letters, epoxy sticker, yellow label sticker, chalkboard die-cut, yellow flower, twine), Crate Paper (heart stickers, rub-on, tag, journaling label, die-cut ‘e’), The Girl’s Paperie (ribbon). Other: Stampin’ Up! ink and markers, Staz-On ink, Tim Holtz tiny attacher.

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SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts. Embellishments: American Crafts alpha stickers, D-lish paper doily, Heidi Swapp date stamp and puffy sticker, Jillibean Soup sticker, October Afternoon die cuts, Teresa Collins and Crate Paper rub ons, Cocoa Daisy ink. Other: Typewriter, cardboard packaging, pencil.

Jodie has chosen Sian’s prompt to scrap a bad photo + create a layout without colour. We think she did a fab job!

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Jodie York - The Jot Teama note to...This photo I took of Stella is technically a bad photo. The main subject is totally out of focus and the focus being the yucky roller doors on our shed out the back of our cottage. But the story that it tells totally nails Stella’s personality and energy.

She is literally a beautiful blur of activity. And that is what I told in the story. As a general rule for my layouts and Project Life pages I like a lot of white space and to use minimal product. My focus is on the photograph and the story I want to tell. So this page has literally no colour in it at all. Totally black and white. Even the photo. The result is a clean, simple, super quick snap shot of my little girl’s life as she is today.

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Lauren Hender - The Jot TeamnoteI chose Sian’s first idea to create something that isn’t a story or an event. I wanted to use up some off cuts of a project I had been working on using Crate Paper products. Their cardstock is so thick I thought it would be perfect for a note book for my desk at work to jot down reminders and to attach important messages. I have added the paper clips and dog clip for this reason. This is a fun and easy way to use up your scraps and put them to good use.

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SUPPLIES | Crate Paper, Prima Marketing, Francheville, Heidi Swapp and American Crafts.

We LOVE Lauren’s mix of patterned papers in all shapes and sizes in her little notebook!

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SUPPLIES | Patterned paper - Crate paper, American Crafts. Alphabets - American crafts thickers, Jillibean soup stickers, Studio Calico stickers, Snap studio stickers, Creative stickers. Embellishments - Heidi Swapp stars, Heidi Swapp ephemera, Crate Paper ephemera. Other - machine stitching, Studio Calico stamp.

When I noticed Sian’s prompt to scrap a ‘tweet’ I immediately thought of this photo my daughter-in-law Alex had posted on Instagram this week. I took the photo and her exact words to create my layout. I love this type of scrapbooking... I love to tell a story and record the small seemingly unimportant details because in my experience these are things that mean the most in days to come.

Mardi Winen - The Jot Teambrayden

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SUPPLIES | Cream cardstock, Studio Calico ‘Brighton Pier’ paper, Amy Tangerine ‘Stitched’ ephemera, Heidi Swapp Colour Shine, printer, journaling pens.

Anna Allan - The Jot TeamI chose to go with Sian’s prompt #1 of documenting something that is not a story or event. In the end, the page also incorporated prompt #2 as the photos I used weren’t taken in very good light (gosh I really dislike fluorescent lighting!) So they were ones that I class as ‘bad’ photos that didn’t really capture what I set out to show in the photo but hey, it was all about the documenting. I am a beginner Consultant for a company that sells skin care, make-up, etc and I wanted to record the process and products used in a particular ‘face-lift’ treatment. This category was perfect to get this done!

say no to botox

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In our regular feature, we get to know the Jot Girls a little better by taking a peek into their daily lives as they share some of their recent Instagram

photos with us.

Jot SPOTTINGWhat have the Jot Girls been sharing on social media?

Another day of rain. Another day of running about in that wet stuff! Why not!

Leanne Allinson

#leanne_allinson

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Lauren HenderA little treat for me.. I love, love, love my new camera! My 2015 New Year’s resolution is to push myself to capture life more creatively.

#lauren_hender

I’ve been going a bit crazy propagating succulents from cuttings!

Yvette Adams

#eeveeadams

Sunday afternoon family time - the boys were drawing, my husband was planning for work and I was working on my planner!

Kim Jeffress

#kimjeffress

The recent school holidays were wonderful. Just before returning to school/work we took a day trip to Bruny Island, south of Hobart here in Tasmania. We walked to the top of the lookout at The Neck. 228 steps from bottom to top. The view was amazing, the wind... not so much!

Sharmaine Kruijver

#4squirts

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Anna Allan

My two year-old daughter was born a micro-premmie at 25 weeks gestation. Her only constant health issue has been her lungs, and after being in the PICU with a respiratory virus in December, we don’t want to take any chances on her getting sick.

At her last pulmonology appointment, I was so proud that she kept her mask on, a very tough ask for a toddler! I was a very proud momma that day.

#annamayde

During the school holidays, we spent two weeks camping in town for VacSwim. Whilst her big sister had her lessons, this little beach babe enjoyed the water, sand and sun to the MAX. She just loves the beach!

Meghann Andrew

Packing and filling A Piece of Cake Designs orders with my own little ‘Jack’ in a box. Best little Jack in the Box I’ve ever seen!

Raquel Bowman

#raquelp

#meghannandrew

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Sheree ForcierThis summer when it’s been far too hot to crochet I’ve been stitching little felt brooches. I love working with felt and these are so much fun to make!

#shereeforcier

Flashback to last weekend. Ken’s mum turned 80! It was a quick trip to Canberra to celebrate. Lovely big party at a local restaurant. Family photo the next day. Missing the middle child who couldn’t make it.

Kim Archer

#kim__archer

Lisa PateWhen everything comes together.

#patey_girl

Amanda HallAfter a mild summer, we finally had a hot day where we bundled the kids and dogs into the car and went to the beach. Luckily we live so close to the coast, so it is never a long drive but everyone looks forward to dipping the toes in - even the dogs.

#apolkadotheart

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#mardi_jane

Mardi Winen

With more time on my hands this year than ever before, not only do I want to concentrate on my own crafty adventures, but I want to invest in my girls’ artistic abilities as well. The plan is to create more art, and document more of the process and final product too. I was pretty impressed with this first attempt at water painting by my 8 year old - not a bad way to start!

At every visit she has been working on this canvas with watercolour pencils. Today was the exciting bit when she added water.

Natalie Elphinstone

#natalieelph

Today was a snow event. A bit more than 7 inches. I just keep looking for that Crystal Cove beach and it’s not here.

Jamie Pate

#jamiepate

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Janna Werner

Front page for my 2015 Project Life album is done!

Jodie YorkMy art studio nook in a corner of my kitchen.

Petra Corcoran

This year I ordered the Ali Edwards December Daily kit. I prepared a bit in November, but guess what? I was way too busy in December to even touch it once! Shame on me. Instead of giving up, I decided to stick to my goal: creating a lovely December memory with the beautiful supplies I bought. So I went and invited two friends and we managed to create within our Daily December albums and enjoy the process, although it was nearly February already! Never give up your dreams.

#polkadotcreative

#jannawerner

#petracorcoran

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This is Love. Happy Valentine’s Day! I love you both so much!

Loredana Bucaria

I thought I might make more traditional spreads this year. Will see how it goes. Just having fun playing for now.

Beshka Kueser

#loredanabucaria

Those Spanish sure do have it figured out. A late, relaxing lunch of chickpeas and chard, peppers and tomatoes in a balsamic dressing and a Spanish tortilla. I don’t think hubby even noticed it was vegetarian.

Aimee Dow

#bckueser#aimeec27

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www.dawnfay.com.auMelbourne | Australia

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CElectronic cutting machines mean we are able to create all sorts of fun things for our paper projects. From cut titles, embellishments, backgrounds and phrases, let’s take a look at our cut file gallery.

THANK YOU TO Raquel from A Piece Of Cake Designs who sponsored this gallery. You can find APOCD right here>

IN YOURcut files

USING

PROJECTS

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Lauren Hender - The Jot Team

This is my little Katie’s best friend Misty May. She is the happiest little girl and everyone around her adores her because she is a delight.

When I saw this cut file full of hearts I knew it was for her. Thinking of her happy playful nature I layered different patterned papers behind the cut file to make the hearts pop out. I also used the ‘hello’ cut file to incorporate into the title. This layout was a whole lot of fun to put together.

hello happy

SUPPLIES | Heidi Swapp, Crate paper, My Minds Eye, Flutterby Designs, American Crafts and Project Life.

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I can’t thank Raquel at ‘A Piece of Cake Designs’ enough for the wonderful cut file I used in this layout.

What I love about cut files is the versatility of them.. just being able to change the size of each element means they can be used over and over for entirely different looks.

I chose to enlarge the “Right now” and include it as the title for my layout.

Mardi Winen - The Jot Teamright now

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Mardi Winen - The Jot Teamright now

SUPPLIES | Cardstock Canson watercolour paper. Patterned paper: Crate paper, American crafts (Amy Tangerine). Embellishments: A Piece of Cake Designs (APOCD) flair, Heidi Swapp, Washi tape. Other: Silhouette, APOCD cut file (Everyday Sentiments), Watercolour pastels, twine, machine stitching, fancy pants design stamp.

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SUPPLIES: Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned paper: We R Memory Keepers, American Crafts. Embellishments: American Crafts and Chickaniddy alphabet stickers, Project Life Becky Higgins chipboard stickers, We R Memory Keepers, acrylic shape, Freckled Fawn paper clip, Kaiser Craft die cuts, My Mind’s Eye enamel dots. Evalicious puffy sticker, Silhouette Cameo, Cocoa Daisy file cut. Other: Typewriter, ink, mist, machine stitching.

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Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot TeamI’ve used a file cut from Cocoa Daisy and created the white cardstock background that I stitched on to pieces of patterned paper that were outside my comfort zone. Cutting a whole piece of 12x12 background is a great way to use up your stash or create with papers that are outside your norm.

anzac parade

We love the little detail such as the ink splats and clusters of enamel dots in Sharmaine’s work!

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SUPPLIES | American Crafts patterned papers, various Project Life cards from the Becky Higgins ranges, tissue paper, twine, tags, epoxy dots, APOCD flair.

We love the baker’s twine circling Lisa’s layout!

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I keep a little stash of precut embellishments and page accents on my desk, which makes it super quick and easy to add a cut file to my projects without pulling out my computer and cameo for each layout. I love how cut files make it so simple to add interesting layers to my layouts.

Lisa Pate - The Jot Teamhello there home

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We love Yvette’s sprinkling of colourful enamel dots on her layout background.

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Yvette Adams - The Jot Teamcolour runWe had the best time with friends at the Colour Run last year. To echo the photos, I created a playful layout with splashes of colour on a neutral background.

Supplies | PAPER: unknown. CUT FILES: A Piece of Cake Designs. LETTERS: Heidi Swapp, Jenni Bowlin. EMBELLISHMENTS: Doodlebug paper strips, Heidi Swapp stamp, Scenic Route label, Freckled Fawn stickers, paperclip and wooden shape. OTHER: tissue paper, fabric.

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We adore Kim’s sunshine-y pineapple embellishment.

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I used the left over piece of a cut file I had used on a previous project and backed it with a piece of Bazzill Bling cardstock that I had embossed with one of the new Wanderlust Embossing Folders.

Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Patterned paper: Heidi Swapp. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp - Minc, Reactive Foil, embossing folder, stickers, wood veneer, chipboard stickers, foil stickers, Washi Tape, Silhouette store - pineapple cut file.

hello

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SUPPLIES | CARDSTOCK: American Crafts white. PAPER: Heidi Swapp. CUT FILES: A Piece of Cake Designs/JCChris Design. EMBELLISHMENTS: Heidi Swapp Ephemera, Maggie Holmes rub ons, Teresa Collins stickers, doily. OTHER: Silhouette Cameo, sewing machine, white thread, tiny attacher, staples, white string.

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Raquel Bowman - The Jot TeamI was inspired by this butterfly cut file designed exclusively for the A Piece of Cake Designs digital store by JCChris Design. I love the whimsical and beautiful feel to it and knew that teamed with the Heidi Swapp paper, the cut file would really pop.

The subject in the photo has special meaning to both my husband in his childhood and myself. It is also where he ‘popped the question’ as it was so significant to both of us. Now we are making sure that our children visit this special place by creating memories there with them.

special moments

Tip: Using white card stock with digital cut files provides you with a variety of choices. You can either leave them as they are like I did, or paint, watercolour, ink, mist!

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I honestly think that nobody does cut files + inspiration better than Wilna Furstenburg. She is so clever that I feel inspired just listening to her soothing voice! I used her cut files on this page and teamed them with another, more graphic designer’s files.

My Silhouette Portrait is my favourite scrapping tool and I love how you can do so much with it without buying extra titles or embellishments.

2015 wanderlustAmanda Hall - The Jot Team

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SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Paper: Amy Tangerine. Cut files: Wilna Furstenburg, and Nicole Nowasad. Other: Amy Tangerine fabric scroll, watercolour paints, silhouette portrait, cotton thread.

Amanda Hall - The Jot Team

TIP : Team flowers and leaves with harsh angles (stars and grids) to soften the layout. I used this same design principle by using pastel water colours with a wood grain.

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SUPPLIES | Heidi Swapp Wanderlust: patterned paper, lace paper, floral die cuts, circle journal spot, glitter word. Canson Watercolor Paper. Cut Files: JMPGirl Designs for Sizzix eShape Store.

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Jamie Pate - The Jot Team

I have loved die cuts since they very first came out. I love the versatility of cutting - whether it is patterned paper, card stock, or even watercolor paper for even further versatility.

Cut files really amp up the personality on a page and make ones style really shine through. For this page I layered the branch file with two different patterns of paper to really add to the layers and textures of the page. Try layering different patterns for your next layout and have fun playing.

sweet adventure

We love Jamie’s sweet layout with its pretty flourish, layering and a dash of sparkle.

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A touch of hand stitching to our papery projects adds such a dimension of texture and interest. So grab out your needle and thread and let’s get stitching.

GALLERYStitchedHand

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Pink Paislee. Cardstock: American Crafts White. Embellishments: Pink Paislee Die Cuts and Chipboard pieces, doily, Teresa Collins sticker, Heidi Swapp bulldog clip, white string, yellow thread. Other: Tiny attacher, staples.

Raquel Bowman - The Jot TeamTo create the ‘sun rays’ I used my Heidi Swapp sun ray mask and drew them directly onto the card stock. I then used my Amy Tangerine paper piercer and mat to piece the holes in the rays evenly. Hand stitching the rays in the yellow thread took quite a while but totally worth it when I see the overall finished layout. I somehow managed to snap this picture of my kiddies where they are both looking, just perfect for the bright colours and theme of this page.

happy days

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: We R Memory Keepers. Cardstock: Bazzill. Alphabets: American Crafts. Embellishments: Cocoa Daisy “Day in the Life” card and cut file, Flutterby Designs wood veneer and flair, Project Life Becky Higgins chipboard, My Mind’s Eye enamel dots, Prima “Instascrap” card, We R Memory Keepers journaling card, Hug Snug ribbon. Other: Labeller - Dymo and tape, thread, Sharpie journaling pen, nail polish, pen, ink, pin, watercolour paint.

Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot TeamUsually I would outline my photo with pen. This time I decided to add some hand stitching around my photo instead. Adding the holes before you start makes the process easier.

family

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I LOVE hand stitching on layouts - I really don’t do it enough. In this instance, I decided to use it as part of my background. I hand stitched two hash tag symbols onto the page to create a type of grid for the placement of my photos and embellishments. I chose to document a day in our life, well...one lazy afternoon on a weekend anyway. This page will be great to slot into my Project Life album!

Anna Allan - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | CARDSTOCK - Bazzill. ALPHABET - Kaisercraft. EMBELLISHMENTS - Heidi Swapp ‘September Skies’, MME ‘Now and Then’, Freckled Fawn, Scraptastic Kit Club, Studio Calico wood veneer. OTHER - wool needle, embroidery thread, ink, date stamp, spray mists, cotton, journaling pen, tiny attacher.

today

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Meghann Andrew - The Jot Teamfrench kiss

Instead of using a font or a template to hand stitch the word ‘kiss’ on my title, I decided to use my own handwriting. After softly writing ‘kiss’ in cursive on the page with pencil, I punched small holes every 1/16” along the lines and used a basic back stitch with 3 strands of black embroidery floss.

SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Studio Calico (floral), Crate Paper (ledger & stripe), Carta Bella (chevron), Fancy Pants (wood grain). Cardstock: American Crafts. Embellishments: American Crafts (chipboard letters, date stamp, twine, stitching pad), Crate Paper (brad, enamel flower & chipboard ), Authentique (word stickers), My Mind’s Eye (enamel dots), Carta Bella (cardstock sticker). Other: DMC embroidery floss, Staz-On ink.

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Heidi Swapp. Embellishments: Freckled Fawn wood words and shapes. Other: Leather cord, music paper, gift wrap, waxed cord, glitter.

Yvette Adams - The Jot TeamlovelyI’ve stitched with some waxed cord on this layout. It was a bit tricky because it was too thick to thread onto a needle, so instead pushed it through holes punched with an awl.

We love Yvette’s hand stitched detail!

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SUPPLIES | Patterned Paper: American Crafts. Cardstock: American Crafts. Alphabet: American Crafts. Embellishments: American Crafts Fabric Sticker, Crate Paper Sticker, tag and die cuts. Wood Veneer: American Crafts, Freckled Fawn. Punch: Stampin’ Up Other: embroidery thread, buttons, graphite Tattered Angel’s Glimmermist.

Sheree Forcier - The Jot TeamI love hand stitching on my pages and it’s been one of my favourite techniques for years. For this layout I stitched a cross stitch pattern onto my wood veneer frame, blanket stitched along the edge of the black paper and back stitched a line around the corner of the photo too.

welcome home

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Supplies | Patterned Paper, various Project Life cards, Heidi Swapp ephemera, Studio Calico wood veneer hearts, epoxy dots, paper doily, cotton floss, various stickers from my supplies.

It’s so rare to get a full photo of all our family together, so we have started a little tradition on Christmas Day where we set up a camera and use the self timer on burst mode. We love the crazy photos the best!

Lisa Pate - The Jot Teamfun stuff

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: American crafts (Amy Tangerine) (Dear Lizzy) Crate Paper. Cardstock: Canson watercolor paper. Embellishments: Amy Tangerine vellum heart, Gossamer Blue dot, Crate Paper fabric brads, Heidi Swapp arrow, Other: watercolour paint, sequins, machine stitching, black crochet thread.

I am such a fan of stitching on layouts however I usually take the cheats way out and use my sewing machine. I have got to say though, I love the hand stitching, to me it looks like a feature rather than an addition. I chose a thick crochet cotton and stitched my title for a bold look.

Mardi Winen - The Jot Teamhello mr silly

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Whenever I do take the time for hand stitching, it’s the texture that gets me. I love the color and the raised effect left on a page where time has been spent to add a homemade and hand stitched touch. It’s just always a pleasing technique.

Jamie Pate - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Heidi Swapp September Skies; Canson Watercolor paper/ Embellishments: Heidi Swapp, Amy Tangerine Embroidery Stencil Kit

one 2 3

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That gold foiled butterfly was screaming out for a stitched tail. I freehand drew a tail with pencil then used a push pad and pin to prepunch my holes. I then used a soft pink embroidery thread to stitch the tail.

Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Heidi Swapp: patterned paper, wood veneer word, Gold Foil embellishments, stickers, stamps, date stamp, ink, ColorShine, gold washi tape. Other: embroidery thread

beautiful

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Basic Grey. Cardstock: American Crafts. Alphabets: Studio Calico. Embellishments: American Crafts glitter tape, Crate Paper Open Road stickers, Kelly Purkey Stickers, Teresa Collins Brads, Gossamer Blue enamel dots, Studio Calico enamel dots and gems. Other: - Tim Holtz tiny attacher, Amy Tangerine embroidery template, Studio Calico stamps, Hero Arts ink pads.

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I love to use hand stitching to enhance patterns already printed on the paper and to add texture to any layout requiring a little more depth. Amy Tangerine Embroidery templates come in SO handy for situations like these.

Aimee Dow - The Jot Team

that face

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SUPPLIES | Stamps from Kellie Stamps. Stitching using the embroidery templates from Amy Tangerine. Black acrylic ‘Hello’ by Color Cast Designs. Patterned paper from 5th and Frolic, Dear Lizzy and Double Dot Designs by Bo Bunny. Script by my own hand using sumi brush and jet black gouache. White DMC embroidery thread.

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We adore our little fur babies around here. Missy is our little girl who always seems to be under our feet. She is notorious for photo bombing our family pics or when I’m trying to photograph my work. She gives our family so much love and we love her right back.

I LOVE hand stitching on layouts, on photos and in our Project Life album.

Jodie York - The Jot Team

missy moo

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SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: We R Memory Keepers. Cardstock: American Crafts. Embellishments: We R Memory Keepers, Maggie Holmes, Dear Lizzy. Other: American Crafts vellum, doily, Heidi Swapp stencil, Whipped Spackle, twine, Amy Tangerine Stitching Kit.

Michelle Stokes - Victoria

This layout documents a very rare photo of the three of us together, as one of us is usually behind the camera. Plus I found the hand stitching quite therapeutic. I cut the speech bubble from a 3x4 card in the WRMK Love Notes set.

we are family Michelle’s blog

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This layout is a bit eclectic and whimsical in design and features a couple of different spots of hand-stitching, as well as a fun mix of patterned paper and washi tapes, plus embellishments. It is a fun page to highlight a photo and memory of my husband and I enjoying an early morning coffee date.

Jody Ferlaak

Supplies | Patterned paper: Heidi Swapp. Embellishments: Color Shine: Heidi Swapp, clear word from Heidi Swapp. Stamps: Tattered Angels.

you. me

We love Jodie’s stitched pear which was inspired by the newest pear stamp from Cocoa Daisy.

Jody’s blog

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I love hand stitching and wanted to create a WOW factor on this layout of my daughter. This sun burst was just the right element to pull your attention to my subject photo; my kindergarten cutie.

Brianna Marshall - NY

SUPPLIES | Kraft cardstock: Bazzil Basics. Patterned paper: Simple Stories. Letter stickers: Webster’s Pages. Enamel hearts: Chickaniddy Crafts. Wood Veneer: Studio Calico.

kindergarten cutieBrianna’s blog

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I hand stitched the whole background with white embroidery thread on white cardstock and turned the “O” into a heart shape and then stitched this plus the “I” and “U” in a light mint color so they stood out from the background. It took me quite a while to make it but I really like the effect.

Emmanuelle Chauvin - Belgium

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned paper: American Crafts (Dear Lizzy). Embellishments: die cuts (Pink paislee) label and chipboard stickers (Studio Calico), wood veneer (Freckled Fawn). Other: Stitching thread: DMC, paper Doily, Silk paper, American Crafts Amy Tangerine stitching template.

loveEmmanuelle’s blog

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If it doesn’t already take me forever to finish a layout, I completely underestimated how long this stitching process would take. It was definitely worth it though. Maybe I’ll just choose a shorter quote next time.

Sophie Koschmann - Victoria

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: America Crafts. Paper: Maggie Holmes Project Life Cards, Dear Lizzy. Embellishments: Maggie Holmes, Dear Lizzy, Heidi Swapp, October Afternoon, D-lish Scraps, A Piece of Cake Designs. Other: Studio Calico mist, Heidi Swapp Colour Shine, washi tape, muslin, tulle, DMC thread, staples.

laugh as much..Sophie’s blog

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Here is the layout based on the idea of hand stitching.What I tried to do is to make my title more visible.The embroidery always adds texture and dimension to the layouts!

Moon Lee, Taiwan

SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Heidi Swapp, Pebbles, Crate Paper. Letter stickers: Fancy Pants Designs. Stickers: Heidi Swapp. Ephemera: Heidi Swapp. Mists: Heidi Swapp. Distress paint: Tim Holtz. Gesso: Ranger. Stencil: Plaid. Embroidery floss: DMC.

sweetieMoon’s blog

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I have used shades of white, transparencies, hand stitching around the date/title and some stitching all around the page for my layout about the picture of the snowy landscape taken outside my home

Sabina - Italy

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Patterned paper: vellum paper, Amy Tangerine Collection Stitched, Other: alphabet dies by Die-Version, numbers dies by Taylored Expressions - Tall and Skinny. Embellishments: stickers by Doodlebugs Frosty Friends collection, enamel dots by Studio Calico.

winter wonderlandSabina’s blog

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Here I used ombre embroidery thread to stitch feathers that I had previously hand cut (out of packaging!). They added the right touch to my colorful page about making homemade sushi for the first time with the help of my dad.

Nathalie Leonelli - San Diego, CA

SUPPLIES | Citrus Twist Kits “Sunkissed” and “This Way, That Way”. Other: Thickers alphabet stickers by American Crafts, white acrylic paint by Michaels.

homemade sushiNathalie’s blog

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I created the star shape using my Silhouette Cameo and cut the shape using the ‘dashed line’ option. I then used embroidery floss and a needle to hand stitch each of the stars on my layout.

Cari Locken - Surrey, British Columbia.

SUPPLIES | Simple Stories (patterned papers, stickers, paper clips). Silhouette America (Silhouette Cameo, Adhesive Cardstock, Pen Holder). DMC Embroidery floss and needle. Sharpie marker. Paper piercer.

you can never have too much happyCari’s blog

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This layout is about changing technology and a comment by my youngest, a teen, that had the rest of the family rolling on the floor.

Madeline Fox - River Ridge, Louisiana USA

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Patterned Paper: Gossamer Blue On My Desk, Heidi Swapp September Skies. Embellishments: Maggie Holmes Open Book Stickers, Gossamer Blue On My Desk Puffy Stickers, American Crafts Cork Stickers, tag, and baker’s twine. Alphabet: American Crafts. Stamps: Scraptastic Kit Club. Chalk Ink: Prima. Pen: American Crafts. Other: buttons, embroidery floss.

where’s the on button?Madeline’s blog

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I love to play with colors - trying new color combos like this grey-pink-white is so awesome.

Alexandra Boehnke - Germany

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Patterned Paper: Studio Calico. Color Mists: Heidi Swapp, Studio Calico, Imagine Crafts. Vellum: American Crafts. Stamps: Studio Calico. Ink: Ranger, Studio Calico. Other: gesso, alphas, embellishments, yarn, acrylic paint, pencil.

scrap on. oh yeah.Alexandra’s blog

We love Alexandra’s mega hand stitched heart background.

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This layout was inspired by the Jot mood board for February and is of my husband, cuddling our new Dachshund puppy Sergio. This little dog “wags its tail with its whole heart” - a quote I found on Pinterest. We are so in love with him already, even after a few short weeks!

Caroline Gatenby - United Kingdom

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned paper: American Crafts, Studio Calico Project Life card. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp. Other: Gold Zing embossing powder, white embroidery floss. Minc gold foiled cut file by In a Creative Bubble at Studio Calico. Date stamp: Heidi Swapp Project Life.

loveCaroline’s blog

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I’ve had the idea for a hand stitched constellation layout in the back of my mind for quite some time and when I saw Heidi Swapp’s beautiful “September Skies“ paper I KNEW this would be perfect for my idea. Also, I’m a huge fan of anything wood - veneers, papers with wood texture etc. I’m pretty happy with how this turned out because I was able to incorporate so many favorite items of mine.

Maren Becker - Germany

Supplies | Cardstock: Bazzill. Patterned papers: Heidi Swapp. Embellishments: October Afternoon, Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp, MMY Necessities, Freckled Fawn.

stars Maren’s blog

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I created my own background using tons of little golden hearts and I have used a special photo about these little, but really beautiful moments in our lives.

Rut Cabrera - Spain

SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Adrienne Looman - Webster’s Pages, Maggie Holmes - Crate Paper, Amy Tangerine - American Crafts, Kiss Kiss - Crate Paper. Embellishments: American Crafts, Maggie Holmes, Glitz Designs, Amy Tangerine.

adorableRut’s blog

We love Rut’s hand stitched detail including this little heart.

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Sweet

Bouncy, bonny, happy and not so happy babies - there’s nothing sweeter than a baby

layout. Here’s a whole gallery full of layouts of adorable little people.

GALLERYBabies

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SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Heidi Swapp. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp Minc Foil applicator, Reactive Foil, Minc card, clip, wood veneer, chipboard stickers, word stickers, Color Shine, Jillibean Soup letters, October Afternoon flair, Bella Blvd sticker.

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Kim Jeffress - The Jot TeamMy youngest son who is six always asks me if he is still my baby Being the youngest he ALWAYS will be and I cherish that memory always! The journaling is inside the Heidi Swapp Minc card!

boom baby

We love Kim’s hidden journaling inside this “Boom Baby” card.

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SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Canson watercolor paper. Patterned paper: American Crafts. Embellishments: Crate Paper ephemera, Crate Paper fabric brad, APOCD flair, Gossamer Blue dots. Other - watercolour paint, die cut twig.

I adore this photo - and even more so once it was printed in black and white. To keep the focus on this precious photo I opted for a very clean and simple colour palette.

Mardi Winen - The Jot Teamyou & me

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SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill 12x12” white smooth cardstock, Cocoa Vanilla Studio ‘Sugar and Spice’ collection, ScrapFx stamps, cotton, tiny attacher, printer, ink, doily, sewing machine, thread.

My girls’ baby photos have been sitting in boxes ready to be scrapbooked for yonks, so this gallery theme was the perfect nudge in the right direction. I sifted through my big girl’s baby photos and found one of my most favourite photos of her as a bubba - sound asleep in the crook of Daddy’s arm...so precious!

Anna Allan - The Jot Teambeautiful girl

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SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Carta Bella, Simple Stories, MME. Cardstock: American Crafts. Alphabets: Fancy Pants, Simple Stories. Embellishments: Simple Stories Bits & Pieces, Simple Stories stickers, Studio Calico chipboard hearts, MME Enamel Dots, Scraptastic Kit Club Cut Aparts and clear stamps, Studio Calico Star Sequins. Other: typewriter, sewing machine.

My youngest is turning six this year and even though he is growing too quickly for my liking, he loves to remind me that he will always be my baby.

Leanne Allinson - The Jot Teamoh baby.

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SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Crate Paper, Pink Paislee, American Crafts. Alphabets: American Crafts. Embellishments: Crate Paper chipboard, die cuts and tags, Crate Paper butterflies, Stampin’ Up paper doilies, American Crafts brad, Pink Paislee die cuts. Other: button, sewing machine, twine, stapler.

Sheree Forcier - The Jot TeamThis cheeky photo of Madi makes me smile every time I see it. It’s definitely one of my favourite photos!

you

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Meghann Andrew - The Jot Teamhappy

To create the textured heart layout in the background, I used a stencil and molding paste, which I first applied plain white, then added a streak of spray ink to certain hearts, giving them a marbled effect. My yellow and pink colour scheme was taken from the color of the bedspread and my daughter’s pajamas in the photo.

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned paper: Crate Paper, Echo Park, American Crafts. Journaling tags: Scraptastic Club, Elle’s Studio. Embellishments: Crate Paper, Studio Calico, American Crafts, Chickaniddy Crafts, Elle’s Studio, My Mind’s Eye. Stamps: Scraptastic Club, American Crafts . Other: Stampin’ Up!, Golden, Studio Calico.

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Heidi Swapp, Studio Calico, Me and My Big Ideas. Cardstock: Bazzill. Embellishments: Kikki K stickers, Typo stickers, Studio Calico mistable sun, Typo clouds, Heidi Swapp acrylic word, October Afternoon label and cloud stickers, tag unknown. Other: white ink, water colour paints, cotton thread.

Nothing much has changed with these two. They love sleeping together and always have. I wonder when they will grow out of it?

Amanda Hall - The Jot Teamtogether

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: My Mind’s Eye. Cardstock: white. Embellishments: My Mind’s Eye die cut pack, Basic Grey Alphabet stickers, doily, white string, A Piece of Cake Designs cork tag. Other: sewing machine, white thread, tiny attacher and staples, date stamp, black ink.

Raquel Bowman - The Jot TeamMeet our little man Jack. We welcomed him into the world six months ago. Each month I take a picture of him with a ‘monthly’ sticker on his top. I aim to scrapbook each of these monthly photos to show the progression in his growth, and boy is he growing! I loved this die cut pack by My Mind’s Eye and wanted to feature them on this page, the frame and number 1 was part of the pack and was perfect for my title ‘1 Month”.

1 month

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SUPPLIES | Teresa Collins, Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, Flutterby Designs, Studio Calico, Kikki K, Kindy Glitz and Heidi Swapp.

This is Archer - the cutest, happiest baby that could be. He is the 12th grandchild in our family and with his adorable smile, cheeky personality and easy going nature he’s managed to catch all our hearts. He is quite simply pure joy and we feel so blessed to have him in our lives. This layout was just lovely to make. I tried to make the layout feel dreamy with the use of soft tones, sparkly stars and different layers. I hope this has inspired you to pull out some baby photos and create something dreamy also.

Lauren Hender - The Jot Teammoments

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SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Alphabets: die cuts unknown. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp washi tape, October Afternoon red sled label stickers, Maggie Holmes stickers, Kaisercraft pocket stickers, Pink Paislee gold foam stickers, enamel dots. Other: Silhouette, cotton thread.

I’ll never forget how excited these two were at meeting their little sister for the very first time. Their smiles lit up the room when they saw her in the bassinet and it was love at first sight. I didn’t realise until now how much it looks like Piper is smiling also in this photo. This is another reason why I love scrapping with jumbo photos - those small details could easily be lost on a smaller shot.

Amanda Hall - The Jot Teamhello sister

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Cocoa Daisy. Embellishments: Crate Paper die cuts and overlay, Flutterby Designs wood veneer, Basic Grey packaging. Other: Typewriter, nail polish, thread.

Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot TeamI scrapped our friends little boy. He is a heart kid, literally! He had two operations on his heart, just after he was born. He is the most gorgeous (AND HAPPY) little boy and it is always a joy to spend time with him. He not only makes you smile but he makes your heart happy.

happy heart

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story telling.

Welcome to our regular story telling gallery. It’s back to school time here in Australia so in this issue we showcase

plenty of back to school ideas in our gallery.

BACK TO SCHOOL

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SUPPLIES | Patterned paper Heidi Swapp, Crate Paper. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp, October Afternoon.

Kim Jeffress - The Jot TeamI took this photo of my boys on my phone as they were walking into school this year for the first time. I love that they are together supporting each other on this journey.

journey

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SUPPLIES | Patterned paper, various Project Life cards, Heidi Swapp ephemera, Thickers, APOCD flair, dymo label maker.

Lisa Pate - The Jot TeamMy baby girl heads into her last year of primary school this year. It’s a huge milestone for our family. With one child already finished his education and another half way through high school, it’s hard to believe that this is the last year of spelling lists, times tables and playing imaginary games in the school yard. I was thrilled when this photo popped up on the school website of Liv’s first day in Year Six with her besties. I love the look on their faces, ready to take on another year.

year 6

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Our baby boy’s first day of school (*sniff*) and Henry was so excited so be going. I like my layouts to be clean and simple, showing lots of white space with the focus being on the photo and the story. Having said that, I love to add pops of colour.

SUPPLIES | various patterned paper scraps from my stash. The stars and circles are cut out using Fiskars punches. Artline black pen for the journaling.

Jodie York - The Jot Teamday one

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We adore Mardi’s off to school photo plus her water colour washed background.

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Crate Paper, Jillibean Soup. Cardstock: Canson watercolour paper. Embellishments: Crate Paper, APOCD flair, Gossamer Blue dots. Other: Silhouette, die cut flowers, sewing machine, paint, watercolour pastels.

This photo just said it all. It’s not great quality ...its just an iphone photo that I grabbed from Instagram but I knew immediately that I wanted to record it. I love the vulnerability and the reassuring hug that was captured in this moment.

Mardi Winen - The Jot Team2015

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: We R Memory Keepers. Alphabets: American Crafts. Embellishments: Cocoa Daisy, Flutterby Designs flair, Kaisercraft die cut. Other: Doily, mist, photo corners, typewriter.

Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot TeamIt seems like yesterday when she went off to school for her first day of kindergarten. Here she is on the first day of her last year of high school. It’s a year for opening doors. Finding what lies behind the walls of high school. Learning more about herself so she can make her own way into the world.

grade 10

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Getting ready to go back to school is always fun. We love stationery around here so we are in heaven when it comes to buying all the bits and pieces from the school supply list.

SUPPLIES | All stamps are from Kellie Stamps, hand stitching created using an Amy Tangerine embroidery stencil kit, wood veneers from Studio Calico and the die cut shape were a gift from Documenting Chaos.

Jodie York - The Jot Teamback to school

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SUPPLIES | Patterned Paper - Bella Blvd. Cardstock - Bazzill, American Crafts. Embellishments - Bella Blvd (Star Student) stickers and chipboard, Greatest View flair, embroidery thread. Other - typewriter.

School awards are always worth recording especially when your child is recognised for their efforts. And “Student of the Week” was a pretty big deal for my sweet natured boy.

Leanne Allinson - The Jot Teamyou’re a star

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: unknown, Sweet William. Alphabets: Heidi Swapp. Embellishments: Freckled Fawn wood bird, Freckled Fawn flair. Other: Gift wrap, fabric, cord, doily, glitter.

Yvette Adams - The Jot TeamMy daughter is about to start high school and boy are we ready!

ready

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SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill. Patterned paper: Pink Paislee ‘Hello Kid’, Studio Calico ‘Brighton Pier’. Alphabet: Dear Lizzy Thickers, Colour Cast Designs. Embellishments: Studio Calico Colour Theory acrylic paints, Kellie Stamps, ScrapFx chipboard, Heidi Swapp, D-lish Scraps, Amy Tangerine ‘Stitched’. Other: gesso, ink pads, journal pens.

This year my baby starts Kindy two days a week to start off with. Both girls were so thrilled to be able to go to school together - I snapped this photo as they strolled down the street hand in hand, happy as pigs in mud.

Anna Allan - The Jot Teamoff to school

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SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp, Glitz. Cardstock: Bazzill. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp, Wilna Furstenburg silhouette leaves, heart and arrow sticker, enamel dots. Other: circle punch, cotton thread, India ink, silhouette for cutting large numbers.

My twin daughters enter into the twilight zone of year 10 this year. Things are starting to get serious, homework is going to get more intense and organisational skills and motivation will be tested. I feel exhausted just thinking about it all!

Amanda Hall - The Jot Team2015

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SUPPLIES | Teresa Collins, Crate Paper, Kaiser Craft, Manor House, Project Life, Words or Whatever, Kindy Glitz, Heidi Swapp and Hampton Art.

My baby has started school! With the love and support of her brother in year 6 Katie has begun school feeling confident and happy. I am so proud of her. Each day I am greeted with smiles and stories of new friendships she has formed. I am still in a little shock that I have just sent my last child off to school but I know she is ready and will be well looked after. This photo was taken on her first day. 2015 look out here Katie comes!

Lauren Hender - The Jot Teamadore

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The first day back at school this year was an extra big event for us because not only did my youngest begin Prep and my eldest go into Grade 3, but it was also the first time I got to be the parent getting them ready and dropping them off. For the past few years I’ve been working and have missed out on things like this, but now I’m fully embracing my new role as a stay-at-home-mum!

Natalie Elphinstone - The Jot Teamfirst day of school

SUPPLIES | Patterned papers: Studio Calico, Basic Grey. Alphabets: American Crafts Dear Lizzy Thickers. Embellishments: Evalicious, Studio Calico. Other: Studio Calico stamp and ink, American Crafts Precision Pen, sewing machine.

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SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: American Crafts, Crate Paper. Alphabets: American Crafts, October Afternoon. Embellishments: American Crafts Die Cuts and Stickers, Crate Paper Die Cuts and Stickers, October Afternoon Sticker, Fancy Pants Filter Paper Circle. Punch: Stampin’ Up. Other: white tag, white card, date stamp, Black Memento Ink, sewing machine

Sheree Forcier - The Jot TeamThis was Madison’s very first day of school ever...her Prep year! She was so excited and couldn’t wait to get there. She had the best day and came home with the biggest smile and loads of stories!

your first day

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We love Petra’s photo ideas for celebrating the start of a new school year.

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Eeek. Back to School. So many photos, so few pockets! For me that calls for an insert and a collage. This will be part of my usual 12x12 Project Life album.

Petra Corcoran - The Jot Team

SUPPLIES | Becky Higgins Design A protectors and 6x8 protectors for insert. Ali Edwards card 3x4 card from Firsts kit, Ali Edwards digital brush and white alphabets for date.

back to school Project Life

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SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: KaiserCraft, October Afternoon. Alphabet: Sketchbook Thickers by American Crafts, Toga, Eurekakids, October Afternoon. Die-Cut Shapes: October Afternoon.

Mireia Sala - SpainMy layout is about the first day of kindergarten of my fourth son.

{1}Mireia’s blog

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SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzil. Patterned paper: October Afternoon, Studio Calico, Doodlebug Design. Chipboard: Fancy Pants, Heidi Swapp, Teresa Collins. Brad: Simple Stories. Wood veneer: Studio Calico, Basic Grey. Maya Road.

Fetty Fathonah - Jakarta, IndonesiaJust last week, I found a story written by my daughter in her drawing book. It’s about her first day in elementary school, she is now in grade 4.

first dayFind Fetty on Instragram here

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SUPPLIES | American Crafts Cardstock, Dear Lizzy and Heidi Swapp Project Life embellishments, Studio Calico alpha stickers, watercolour paint.

Sandra Bunch - QLDThis layout focuses on the other end of the school year - about celebrating and finally saying farewell to a challenging school year for my daughter. I didn’t want to focus on the details of what made it a tough year, but instead just briefly mentioned the main points, and ensured it was a bright, happy layout by using Dear Lizzy Serendipity and Heidi Swapp Project Life embellishments.

farewell grade twoSandra’s blog

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SUPPLIES | Paper: Lemon Owl. Stickers: Simple Story “Snap”. Stencil: Crafters Workshop. Stamp: Kaisercraft. Chipboard: Wycinanka.

Tatyana - BelarusThis is a story about my son - Pavel. And his first day at school. The first year of teaching is very difficult for young children. We learn to write, read, count - we try to!!!

first day at schoolTatyana’s blog

Jot Magazine 136By Kim Archer

5back to schoolproducts for your next papery project.

RIGHT: School sticker sheet from Simple Stories. Website here>

<<LEFT: School themed alphabet washi tape from The Paper Parlour UK. Find their Etsy store here>

ABOVE: Tim Holtz Idea-ology collection ruler ribbon. Visit website here>

ABOVE: Yellow ruler back to school ribbon from HairBow Supplies Etc. Shop here>

RIGHT: Back to school flair badges from Buttons And Badges. Find them here.

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pocketSCRAPBOOKINGWelcome our new 2015 Jot Girls Pocket Page team members - Leanne Allinson, Beshka Kueser and Petra Corcoran who bring us fresh ideas each issue for our pocket pages.

138 MEET PROJECT LIFER - Petra Corcoran148 POCKET PAGE EMBELLISHING TIPS152 BACK TO SCHOOL JOURNALING CARDS BY BESHKA + LEANNE157 POCKET PAGE GALLERY

Jot GirlPocket

teampage

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Petra Corcoran lives in Queensland with her husband Lincoln and children April, Calvin and Mackenzie as well as a collection of pets including two small dogs called Abbey and Lilly and three guinea pigs! “We also appear to live with quite a few little geckos and not a day goes by that I don’t see at least one in the house!”

How long have you been doing Project Life and how often do you work on your pages?

I started Project life in mid 2011 when I moved states to Queensland. I completed my first full year on 2012. I really don’t set a specific time for my pages and work on them as time allows. Usually late at night.. but I do try to get to them at least once a week.

PETRA CORCORAN

Profile of a Project Lifer

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“I have always done the traditional 12x12 Project life Layouts and continue to do so. When

it ain’t broken, stick to it!”

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Do you have a dedicated Project Life space?

Yes I do. It’s our spare/guest/scrap room. We are currently renting so it’s not perfect or ideal but I squeeze a lot into my little space and everything is right at hand. Printer, album, cards, embellishments are literally at arms length.

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“When it comes to embellishing I love

wood veneers and stick on alphabets the most by far.”

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Do you do any other scrapping?

No, not really. I have a long list of “back projects” that I want to do traditionally but time and inspiration always seems in short supply. I am subscribing to the Ali Edwards Story Kit this year and hope it may help unblock the inspiration part. Fingers Crossed.

How long does it take to make a spread?

This is the 6 million dollar question. There are days where BAM! I get it done in an hour! Other days a layout can take a week to finish because of the piecemeal way I keep coming back to it. I have realised that sometimes I may get a random idea in my head, something I want to try out and I can be really productive then and other times it just does not happen.

Do you print your photos at home?

Yes I do. I have an Epson Picture Mate for 4x6 photos and I have an A3+ Epson R3000 for larger prints.

What camera do you tend to use the most?

I use my iPhone a lot but, when not using my iPhone and I want really special pictures I use my Canon 5D Mk II.

Do you jot things down through the week or do you have any tips for keeping track of what you have done?

Other than the odd note on my iPhone as mentioned before I don’t. I tend to wing it when I am putting the layout together. Part of what keeps me as up to date as I can be otherwise I forget stuff.

How do you organise your supplies?

Well in my crammed space it’s all over the place. Having said that there is method in my madness and I do actually have specific places for things. I use my shelf, buckets and other bits for storage. As for the Project Life kits, I always keep those in their original box. For me it makes the process of choosing cards easier.

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For me the best thing about Project Life is I get to jam in LOTS of photos. Not being able to do that is what turned me off

traditional type scrapbooking in the first place. I also get to be fairly up to date with our family memory keeping and that makes

me truly happy.

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What do you find is the most challenging thing when it comes to Project Life?

Limiting myself to only so many photos and so many stories is a big challenge. I know I could say something about every single photo but, that is just not conducive to getting pages completed and is anyone really gonna read it all? Also limiting the photos I use is a challenge. Culling photos from the many I take is a challenge for me most of the time.

What are your tips for staying organised and up to date?

Hmmm… I’m not sure that I would call myself organised or up to date but if I was to give some tips that help me get it done it would be these:

1. Take at least one photo every day. Seriously it’s key.

2. If you are not good at remembering why you took photos keep a diary or notes. I occasionally jot little notes in my “notes” app on my iPhone.

3. Not too many kits. For me, too many kits can be overwhelming and anyone starting out may feel the same. If you limit to one or two then the process of getting it done and staying up to date is so much easier.

Get to know Petra on her blog here>

And see Petra’s Project Life videos here>

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embellishingPOCKET PAGE

Jot GirlPocket

teampage

ideasOur Pocket Page Jot Girls share their

ideas on embellishing their pocket pages.

What are their top embellishments, favourite places to shop and how do they

approach their pockets when it comes time to adding those little extra touches.

Let’s read what they have to say.

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What THREE embellishments always seem to find their way onto your pages?

Embellishments that often find their way onto my pages are veneers, hybrid/digital elements and stamps.

What is your embellishment process?

My embellishing often comes last after everything has been pocketed.

Do you make your own embellishments?

I like to print digital elements and turn them into embellishments. An example would be a colored circle with a nifty word in the center: I print the circle, cut it

out, add a pop dot to the back and stick it somewhere as my embellishment. Love doing this!

What do you use for titles?

Usually for titles I use letter stickers + thickers. I also like to use my handwriting cut out, hoping to use that more in 2015.

Where are your favourite places to shop when it comes to finding embellishments?

For my digital elements I go to digitaldesignessentials.com and for other elements/embellishments I like to shop at Gossamer Blue, Scrapbook And More, Becky Higgins and Studio Calico.

Beshka Kueser

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What THREE embellishments always seem to find their way onto your pages?

My three most used embellishments are: veneers, alphas of all sorts, any word/script stickers.

What is your embellishment process?

I always embellish last. I have ideas as I am working through a layout but put them on last usually after completing my title or week review card.

Do you make your own embellishments?

Occasionally I make my own cuts using a Silhouette. 99% of these are either script words or borders. What do you use for titles?

Definitely thickers.

Where are your favourite places to shop when it comes to finding embellishments?

This really depends as I go all over the place. Locally either Polkadot Creative , Kellie stamps for stamps and Papertrenz. Internationally it would be Ali Edwards, Studio Calico and Freckled Fawn.

Petra Corcoran

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What THREE embellishments always seem to find their way onto your pages?

Enamel dots, stamps and lots of stickers!

What is your embellishment process?

Embellishing is my last resort. After I have added my photos and journaling, I look at the areas on my spread where I can enhance the story with subliminal messages through embellishment. Sometimes a simple image or stamped phrase can trigger extra memories that cannot always be included in the journaling process.

Do you make your own embellishments?

I do make my own embellishments, especially if it’s something I don’t have

on hand immediately! I love using my Silhouette Portrait cutting machine to help create custom phrases or filler cards.

What do you use for titles?

I love to use small alphas for my titles. My favourites are the Jillibean Soup Alphabeans (so many amazing colours) and the textured Prima Alphas.

Where are your favourite places to shop when it comes to finding embellishments?

I love shopping for my goodies via Sassy Scrapper (an online store in Victoria, Australia). But I am always searching for fun clear stamps to use. The stamp sentiments from The Scraptastic Kit Club store have some great value products and I am now getting quite the collection!

Leanne Allinson

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PROJECTS & PHOTOGRAPHY | Beshka Kueser + Leanne Allinson

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journalingBACK TO SCHOOL

Jot GirlPocket

teampage cards

Beshka and Leanne share some fun, fresh and inspiring ways to create your own journaling cards for your back to school pocket pages.

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Beshka KueserThese cards took just minutes to make and are mostly a combination of stamps, chipboard and flair.

I took this filler card just a step further and added some machine stitching. To make this one I took a plain 3x4 card and stamped ‘back to school’ on it over and over, creating a pattern. I then cut the stamped card and another patterned card at a diagonal. I then stitched two of those pieces onto another card and added some flair. Easy peasy.

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Leanne AllinsonThis trio of cards come from my Project Life spread this week.

Want to make a set of cards like Leanne has?

You’re in luck! Leanne shares her full tutorial on the Jot blog. Check it out here>

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teenagesurvivalcoach.com.au

hey mum,are you busy?Frazzled?Need to offload?Me too!

Grab a cuppa and join me.

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pocketShowcasing Project Life/pocket style scrapbooking pages capturing our attention.

SCRAPBOOKING

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Petra CorcoranThis is my week 4 of my 2015 Project Life. I used the Becky Higgins / Amy Tangerine Plus One Edition as my jumping off point. Concentrating on black and yellow, I placed my cards among my photos. As always I add all my digital brushes (mostly Ali Edwards Design) and white borders digitally before printing the photos out.

Queensland

Petra’s blog

I used the Amy Tangerine Thickers with a similar script font to the cards I printed to accent the layout.

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ON the right side I wanted to add an extra 6x4 photo so rather than putting in a flip pocket or something similar I just cut one photo in half placing it across two 3x4 pockets of the Becky Higgins Design A page protector.

With cutting photos to spread across multiple pockets, I have a few golden rules I try to follow so that the picture looks “right”

1. Never cut through a face. 2. Do not cut off at neck 3. Do not cut off at joints eg: wrists, knees, ankles. If you can move the focus of the photo away from the cut line by either making it bigger, smaller or moving the picture over, do it. Ideally the cut just should take place in any white or dead space in a picture.

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Leanne AllinsonQueensland

This Project Life spread has documented Week Three in our crazy lives! It was the week before school resumed and the long weekend was about celebrating Australia Day!

Leanne’s blog

On my Week Three spread, there was a blank space in the top right corner. I knew I wanted to mimic the watercolour script from the bottom left, but didn’t have any suitable words. I found a free font via Pinterest and transferred the text to my Silhouette software. After tracing the words “& now” in the Silhouette program, I resized and welded the alphas together to create my own cut file - a script similar to the one from the bottom corner. But instead of cutting the file from patterned paper, I used watercolour paper. From here I sprayed the cut out words with water and painted it with Heidi Swapp Colorshine (Mint & Navy) to create an ombre effect.

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BOTTOM PHOTO | I love to have white space on my Project Life spreads but I also love to create layers. Especially on journaling cards! In this pocket I’ve trimmed patterned paper to 4x6 to use as my background and added a 3x4 journaling cards off centre to the right. After typing my journaling, I’ve layered a coordinating die-cut ephemera, a brad for extra dimension and a stamp in turquoise to carry the colour through from the bottom layer.

TOP PHOTO | Taking screen shots on my iPhone of my weather app has been a useful documentation tool for

my Project Life. For the last few years, the week before school starts back,

has been traditionally wet! I wanted to record our weather situation to remind us how much the weather

can affect our day to day living and preparation for back to school. I’ve

combined three different screen shots into one square image by using a

collage app called Diptic.

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Meghann AndrewUSA

This spread is from my ‘Week In The Life’ documentation that I did at the end of October 2014, which I am adding into my monthly Project Life album.

Since I usually document only a photo a day for my regular spreads, this project gives more detail from our daily lives. To save myself time searching through product, I used cards and pieces from the September Scraptastic Club This Life Noted kit and added on with extra embellishments from my stash.

Repeat the same elements throughout your spread to simplify things and to make the process faster. I kept the chipboard hearts out on my desk and added one

whenever I felt that an embellishment was needed. It saved me the time going through my stash to search for different hearts or other elements.

TIP: Stick to 1 or 2 different fonts to give the spread a congruent look. I kept to a script and a typewriter font.

Meghann’s blog

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Tip: To add typed text to the triangular space in my ‘hello sunshine’ card, I first scanned the card in as a JPEG, popped the image into Photoshop Elements and added a text block over the top of the image.

When I printed the page, I turned off the card layer, printing only the text and used non-permanent adhesive to adhere the card to the top of the printed page before running it back through the printer again.

To add thick embellishments, like flair, to my album, I always

affix them on the top of the page protector, so that they don’t stretch out the pocket

and create glare while I’m photographing my spreads.

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Beshka KueserGermany

My second week for Project Life 2015! January is always a hard one. After all the holiday brouhaha, I am pretty lax with the documenting during the month of January. I tend not to stress and just work with what I have...it usually works out okay (and a good color combo never hurts to distract from that!!).

Beshka’s blog

Sometimes I don’t have much to say but I want to say something...text strips on photos are perfect for this!

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TOP PHOTO | I like white space and I like for white space to be white space, but sometimes it just begs to be filled. I love this photo and the moment it captures but it was begging for more! I started by adding the mountain to the corner followed by the date and then the ‘first’ acrylic piece. I kept it monotone but felt it needed just a tiny bit of color, so I threw a piece of washi onto the mountain. Done. Before the photo just blended into my spread but now it really stands out, which is what I wanted for one of my kiddos firsts.

Beshka’s blog

I love my cutting machine and if I can find a way to squeeze cuts into

pockets I will!! Here I did double duty with the monthly theme, cutting JAN

out of a January monthly filler card, then attached a piece of patterned

scrap paper to the back and finished my filler card off with a text strip of

the dates for the week I am on. I love easy, and this was definitely easy!

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This Project Life spread is my first one ever and since creating it I have really ‘caught the bug’. I have tried to create a miniature scrapbook layout in each pocket. I have included a sweet gold deer embellishment to compliment the subject of my photo.

Belinda Spencer - South Australiaweek one

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Belinda’s blog

Belinda has used lots of pinks, browns and creams for her Week 1 spread which gives a shabby chic feel.

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Jodie KingSunshine Coast, AustraliaI think it’s important in our Project Life spreads to record not only the every day happenings of ourselves and our family but also things like the change of season. This week gave me a great opportunity to do that with the blooming of wattle flowers in our area and some perfect beach weather to enjoy the start of Spring.

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Jodie’s used a combination of journaling strips and journaling cards she has printed out for this week’s spread.

Jodie’s blog

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Jodie YorkWeek five of our Project Life album for 2015. I say ‘our’ because this project is very much a family affair.

The Jot Team - NSW

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Supply List | Stamps from Kellie Stamps. Far Far Away Studio Calico Project Life kit. White textured cards from Becky Higgins. Black Stazon ink. Black felt tip Artline pen.

Jodie’s blog

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Andrea GrayUsing a wide variety of colors and products that all work together, this layout tells the story of one day in the life I live with my family.

Northern California, USA

Andrea’s blog

Sue KoThis spread is a good snapshot of what the boys got up to that month, their likes, and their quirks at the time. I’m especially happy the spread includes photos of each of us, just doing every day things.

QueenslandSue’s blog

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I used Creative Retreat’s December kit for this layout showcasing my favorites from the holiday season. I love the soft colors combined with a balance of both glitter and wood embellishments! Christmas had a special sparkle this year with a nearly two-year-old!

Danielle YoungAtlanta, GA

Danielle’s blog

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dear diary.You know, when I sit down and think about it, I might actually be quite bonkers.

Said in my very best Maxwell Smart voice, I was “this close” to having life on easier-street.

One finishing high school…. The next entering the final stages… but WHAM here I go again from the very beginning with Gina just starting her school career.

Now the clock’s restarted and there’s only 13 years of this left to go…. I may need to buy shares in Moccona.

I’d love to say the start to the school year has been saccharine sweet and hiccup free but hey, just between you and me, that wouldn’t be truthful.

It might be simplest if I share the recent events of back-to-school child-by-child, beginning from the easiest and ending with Gina!

It’s back to school in Shari’s household and

one little person is not a happy camper as a new school girl!

BY SHARI BREWER

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Shari Brewer lives on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland with her family and these diary entries may or may not be a truthful account of her day-to-day experiences.

She’s never been shy of a story, so it’s best you decide what’s fact or fiction.

A mother of three (two teens and a preschooler) Shari’s a part time high school teacher who keeps herself busy running a household as well as the parenting

website Teenage Survival Coach. In her spare time she clatters on the keyboard and pimps her writing services as a freelancer.

Visit Shari here on her website, Teenage Survival Coach.

Liam, despite barely touching a writing utensil last year, finished school with results good enough to earn him a university place where he’s enrolled to study law.

Subsequently he believes he’s gifted, I feel he was lucky… but at the end of the day he’s motivated, organized and ready to launch into tertiary education. I’m proud and he’s pumped, so we’ll call that one a win!

After only a few weeks, Scott has settled soundly into the 2015 school routine. Same great friends, same trusty school bag and we’ve only missed one day of term so far. Swimming carnival. And I think I may have mumbled something to the school about him having allergies that day. Rightly so, like his mother he’s always been allergic to swimming carnivals and it was lovely to spend the day with him. Shhhhhh don’t tell the Education Authorities!

Now Gina. Where do I start?

Her first year of school in a class full of the other knee-high darlings dressed in matching oversized uniforms and she claims to hate it.

Her teacher is very lovely, the teacher aide friendly and funny and the classroom air-conditioned. I ask you Dear Diary, what’s not to love about that!

Let alone the fun of a new playground, the joy of home readers and sight words.

But still, she says she doesn’t like school.

In the mornings I’d believe that… as there’s only been one drop off so far where she hasn’t needed to be peeled from my leg.

BY SHARI BREWER

Mind you, all of the other children have been happily sitting on the carpet after bidding their mums farewell and I feel Gina’s daily performances must then be an adequate replacement for the kiddie morning shows they’d surely be missing.

Not all bad news though, because by pick up time her lunch box is empty (she’s eating so that’s a good sign, right?) and I find her waiting on the mat in her classroom, in quite good spirits.

It gives me hope that it must one day become easier.

It’s a different primary school to the one both boys attended and I must say I’m very impressed so far. She’s developed the wonderful habit of raising her hand at home to comment or ask me something. I quite like that.

Just as I’m enjoying the evening-time floor shows which seem to be a medley of hymns about being loved and courageous, truly cute enough to make me almost forget the trauma of morning drop offs! But not quite.

The back to school routine is great Dear Diary but when are the holidays? I hope you’ll help me keep my sanity until then!

Till next timeShari xx

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www.jotmagazine.com

We hope you enjoyed

ISSUE 9 ofjot magazine.

our next issue will hit the digital news stands

in june 2014.in the meantime, visit us

on the jot blog and keep an eye out for workshops, ebooks and all

sorts of fun new things.