Fitting In or Standing Out...

"I think everybody's weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it." 

Johnny Depp

How about another Individuality challenge to inspire you and get your scrapbooking mojo flowing?  Here's one posted over at our community:

Fitting in: Would you rather fit in? Or stand out? Is weird a good word to you? Or one that makes you cringe? What about being different? Were you part of a crowd growing up? Would you rather follow? Or lead?

What is really strange about you and how good are you at embracing your strangeness?

Is your interest piqued?  If so, please join us!  Come on over to the message boards and log in (it's free to register) to see the design twist for this challenge.  Play along.  Show us your layout in our challenge gallery and you could WIN some fun product to use on your future layouts.

I really hope to see you there!

The Negative Can be Positive

Hi everyone!

Did you know that about every five days, our fabulous design team members share exclusive tips and tricks utilizing our beautiful and meaningful kits? Our brand new team has been doing an awesome job with their debut kits and I'm here to share with you just a little taste of what is going on at the message board. (That's where we share our Exclusive Content.)

Oh.. and did I mention it's free? ;)

First off, I'd like you to all help me welcome Jen Matott to our team and then take a read and see what she has to share about using negative space in creative ways.

The Negative can be Positive

By Jen Matott

Using negative space in an artwork or layout creates an exciting accent and uses your supplies in a new way! We all have either punches or die cutters (or both) that create fun shapes. I love using mine to create pops of color or design in layouts. Here are a few ways that you can use the negative space (or left over punched out area) to your advantage:

1. Back the cut out area with patterned paper for a fun shape with extra POW!

I punched circles and added scraps of patterned papers to the back before adhering it down. Here is the finished page:

This page is about my need to find my style and how in the past, I struggled with fitting into the popular crowd and being the same as the people I thought were better than me. I felt a bit empty when I tried to fit in and not be true to my own style and self.

2. Using the negative space as a frame. You can frame items that you want to use as a focus... photos, special items, journaling. I use this is several of my layouts this month. Here are a few ways I used negative space as a frame.

3. Use negative space as a mask or stencil for a shape to be painted or sprayed on. I love to do this with many of my left over cut outs. I use a die cutter or punch and then use the remaining cut out to mask an area on my page with sprays.

I often do this in my visual journal as above. These are 3 ways that you can use the left over cut out papers that your die cuts or punches leave behind. I hope I have inspired you to use your scraps in a different way! 

Thank you so much Jen for sharing these tips! Make sure to come by our forum for more ideas and discussion about our January kit - INDIVIDUALITY! 

Stand Tall and Be You

Hey y'all... what fabulous suggestions we received on future topics and colors.  Way to go!  Rachel will be back soon to announce the winner of the Individuality Kit.  In the meantime, let's look at what some of the design team has done with the kit.

Part of exploring individuality is about recognizing who you were and how that influenced who you are now.  It's knowing what makes you, you.  It's realizing that all the little things make up the whole that is You.  Check out some of these layouts on "being me (you)".

Bonita Rose

Jennifer Matott

Kai Baldwin (guest designer)

Melissa Elsner

Nicole Martel

Whew!  What amazing layouts... such heartfelt journaling... just blow away at the strength in all of them.  Please stop by our gallery to see more!

I'll be back soon to share another Individuality challenge.  Get your thinkin' cap on... I want to hear some interpretations!

Rachel's Ramblings...On Individuality and How to Source Kits that Matter

Each year as we get ready for the Craft and Hobby Association winter show, also known as CHA, we start thinking about themes and concepts to share with our members in the coming months. For those of you new to the scrapbook world, CHA is the for-the-trade only show where manufacturers display their upcoming products and buyers (like us) make their decisions about what to bring to market as retailers.

For our SFTIO team in particular, ordering is not a matter of simply finding the prettiest and most innovative materials, but ones that tell a story in a cohesive way. We don't make definitive buying decisions at the show itself; we meet as a team after the show for three to four days and analyze our choices based on paper lines that caught our eye. We then look at the paper lines with an emotional bent - what paper lines fit together in color and mood? What do we feel when we see those papers? What can we imagine scrapbooking about with those supplies? Afterwards, we seek out brand new embellishments - alphas, unique media, great color, and of course, icons and symbols that evoke expression and truth.

I'm always amazed that we never seem to run out of ideas...we typically end the week of CHA with more themes than we can handle - and then need to narrow down from 9 or 10 potential themes to 6...always difficult as we get so attached to the ideas we've generated! They often find a home in the following six months.

So why am I rambling on about all this? It's because I am uber-proud of the amazing women who support me and help find you not just the best of the best, but the most meaningful. There are other good kits out there...but too often I find them looking the same month after month, with those retailers sticking to an aesthetic rather than going for something deeper.

I love what we stand for...and how each of our kits contains only the latest releases, matched with an artist's eye and a poet's heart.

Does it make sourcing kits harder? Yes! We can't just pick out our favorite lovelies and mix and match 'em whenever they arrive. But I'd never trade the fun, the discussion, the variety that makes each kit a unique creation that doesn't mirror the previous months' kit. Each one stands alone as a testament to INDIVIDUALITY! We promise to keep bringing you the best kits and the most meaning...never looking for the easy route, but the one that will help YOU create layouts that speak to your soul and leave you feeling fully expressed and free to create the future you wish for.

What emotions would you love to see in upcoming kits? Let us know here in comments and we'll pick a winner who will receive our current kit, INDIVIDUALITY...we'll have our giveaway open until Sunday 1-22 at noon Pacific.

 

Stick with us...we've got SO much more to share! Thanks for your business and support. Stand out...be you...don't be one of the crowd, express your INDIVIDUALITY and be a part of SFTIO!

Love,

Wham Bam POW!

Do you like sparkle and glitter? Our current kit INDIVIDUALITY will be perfect for you if you said yes.
I like sparkle too but I'm not a glitter fan. Why? Because it gets everywhere. No matter how careful I am to pour on a tray or sprinkle in just one little area, it ends up everywhere. All over the project, on the floor, on my hair, on my nose. Not. A. Fan.

Enter something fabulous...

The new Pow paper from American Crafts. It is glitter paper but it is embedded meaning it doesn't flake off. It's almost smooth to the touch but when you look at it, it gives the illusion that it will flake off any minute. The sparkle is amazing. Finally... a kind of glitter I can love! And guess what? It's in this month's kit! Yep, we've got a fabulous shade of pink for you to play with as you let your individuality sparkle and shine.

I thought I would share a technique I used on one of my layouts. Sometimes a large sheet of glitter paper can be overwhelming. So I say cut it up into smaller bits. Create embellishments and accents to minimize the glorious sparkle.

This paper is fine enough (but not too fine... definitely is still a thick cardstock) to use in an electronic cutting machine like the Silhouette Cameo. There is a wonderful rolled flower shape in the Silhouette Library and I had to try it out on this paper. If my machine could cut this paper, then I would be a forever fan and it WORKED!

Here is the layout...

It gave my layout the perfect amount of spunk to go with the theme I wanted to convey. 

Come on over to the forum where I share a couple more ideas on using this fab paper.

Did you know that the Design Team shares monthly tips, tricks and ideas using the kits in our forum? It's all free and a wonderful source of inspiration for you as you create... from the inside out!

Ready to get started with your first kit? Click here! 

Sketch It Saturday

Hi everyone! Just catching up on some of the wonderful sketches that our previous design team was able to create for us all to use! Jamie always made them so easy to follow and had such great layouts to match! This is from our December kit Uncertainty. 

Here are 2 other sketches.. what can you create with Individuality with them? I would LOVE to see them. 

Please feel free to post them in our online community and leave a comment here! Looking forward to seeing all that creativity!

A Challenge to Have No Fear!

Layout by Melissa Elsner

It’s challenge time here at Inside Out.  Our first challenge for Individuality has been posted in our community.  Would you like to play along?  It’s thought-provoking, challenging, sometimes a little nerve-wracking but ALWAYS so much fun!  This first challenge is about showing or hiding your true self.  And it has a doozy of a design twist!

Consider this:

No Fear: When we show people we have nothing to hide and what you see is what you get we show our true individuality. Does this scare you? Do you show your true self to all in your life? Why or why not?

I have to admit, I hide. I’m a good hider.  That’s probably not something to be proud of, but it is the truth.  I am afraid to share my full and true self to all in my life because I have an even bigger fear of ridicule and rejection.   But growing inside of me over the past few years is an increasing desire to be fully me, to show fully who I am and not hide what I believe in.  That desire will eventually overcome my fear of rejection (probably when I’m, like, 88 years old) and then I will be FREE to express myself one-hundred percent.

Are you different?  Are you already there, being 100% authentic?  Oh, how I envy you.  Or are you like me, hiding bits and pieces because you wish to be accepted, even if it means you’re not technically accepted completely? 

It’s a pretty deep thought.  The layout I’d like to create is already forming in my mind.  Now… to embrace the design challenge:

Please create a LO about whether you show your true self or hide something. Please be BRAVE and use a pic of yourself that isn't a favorite - but one that shows a side of you others may not see...are you being silly? playful? angry?

There’s a big step for me.  A photo that isn’t my favorite?  Well, I certainly have plenty to choose from!


So… will you join me, please?  At least share your thoughts on the No Fear journaling prompt in the comments below.  I oh-so hope, though, that you will join us to do the entire challenge.  Stop in over at the community and see interpretations by other brave challenge-takers.  Post your layout in our challenge gallery and watch all of the wonderful supportive comments appear.  And who knows, for your effort and your display of amazing individuality, you might win the challenge prize!

Please join us!

Who Are You?

This month has me all revved up.  I'm having such a great time perusing all of the inspiration over at Inside Out and scrappin' about me in the simplest of terms:  who am I?  What makes me, me?  Because it's all about Individuality this month!  Let me give you a taste of the inspiration that has me fired up starting with my absolute favorite quote of late:

And another:

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. 
Dr. Seuss

Some music to pep you up:

And a fabulous message from one of the members of our Design Team:

layout by Bonita Rose

Please... I invite you over for more Individuality inspiration.  Take some time to get inspired at this month's inspiration page, or join the community to view the galleries and get involved with the conversation about individuality!

I hope to see you there!

Taking Time for Me

About 10 years ago (ish) was when I dipped my toes into scrapbooking. Then I found I loved card making even more and really got into that. Took some classes, refined some skills, learned new techniques, etc., etc. In the midst of that, I would create an occasional layout and.... hate it.

So I hid.

I hid from scrapbook layouts. LOL But I did love it and just needed to practice is all. Not sure why I was so afraid to keep trying but, eventually, I would try again. Then something else happened.

I ran out of things to scrap about. I have no children. I have no significant other. I take trips but I got tired of trying to figure out different ways to scrap the same old photo. Blah. At the same time I was going through some therapy. My counselor told me to journal. But I hated journaling and keeping a diary. I never kept it up. Maybe the first few pages and then I'd stop. Why? It was boring. It didn't free me from anything. I just hated writing. So we explored some options. Should I type it? Nope. Should I make myself do it anyway? Nope. Hey... I like to scrapbook... why not combine the two? And my friends, a new and wonderful thing happened. I decided to use my love of scrapbooking and combine it with my need to journal. Let it all out, if you will.

This brief little back story is to share how much I love and appreciate the philosophy of SFTIO. I'm a firm believer in combing something you love as your means to creatively express and "let it all out".

To see the full layout and more amazing layouts from our design team, click here.

So what's your story?

Come share with us on the forum!

Exploring Individuality

It's a big word: Individuality.  Lots of syllables.  Let's sound it out:  in-duh-vij-oo-al-i-tee.  That's fun!  In-duh-vij-oo-al-i-tee.  Say it with me:

In

duh

vij

oo

al

i

tee

Yes, I'm a nut and entertained easily.  But it is fun.  And quite a break-down of such a big word.  A big word that describes you as only you can be.

Have you ever really sat down and thought about individuality?  What makes you, you?  What makes him, him?  What makes her, her?  How is there sameness?  Differences?  It's an amazing, profound concept.

Let's have some fun with some Individuality synonyms:

Thank you Wordle - click image to enlarge.

Do any of those speak to you?  Any synonyms in there that yell out, "that's me!"?

Share your favorite five Individuality terms in a comment below... we'd love to see what individual favorites are out there!

New Year - Express Yourself!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our new kit, Individuality, has launched.  What a spectacular kit!  I have already had my hands on this and it's full of just plain 'ol GORGEOUS!  Just like YOU.  It is a perfect time to explore yourself.  The New Year brings with it a New You.  A Fresh Start.  Time to dig deep (or just a little) and explore your Individuality.

What makes you, YOU?  How do you express yourself?  What speaks to you, sings to you, entices you?  Embrace and celebrate your uniqueness.  Share your quirks.  Open up and let your soul shine!

We want you to do it with us.  Join us.  Watch what's coming up here and share with us, or hop on over to our community to see all that's going on right now, or join in on our challenges and ...

EXPRESS YOURSELF!

It's going to be a great year!