American Crafts Studio Blog

Layout by Jenny C.

Here's another awesome City Park project made by design team member Jenny Chesnick:

Supplies: High Line Park Paper (35230) - City Park, Forest Gardens Paper (35226) - City Park, Skyline Park Paper (35235) - City Park, Gryffin Park Paper (35240) - City Park, Sidewalk (42182) - Remarks, Slide (72004) - Delights, Gazeebo (42176) - Remarks Dimensional Stickers, Kite (78039) - Details, Sunny Salmon (53120) - Thickers, Other supplies: Alphabet stickers by Sassafrass, Die Cut Edges by Bazzill Basics, Stamp by Studio Calico

Jenny shares, "When I received the new City Park line I was beyond ecstatic! I was so excited to see a non-traditional fall line that would go so well with many different photo occasions. Unfortunately my creativity was in the dumps. So I hit the web and checked out my favorite inspirational place, Page Maps. Truth be told I love sketches. I use them quite often when I just can't seem to get things going. I loved this one particular sketch because of how the background paper is laid out. That seemed to be all I needed and the rest just fell together on its own. It doesn't hurt that I have the cutest kiddo ever to scrap! Ava and I spent a spring afternoon blowing bubbles and hula hooping. The bright colors of the photos blend perfectly with the bold and fun patterns of City Park."

I love all the layering and dimensional elements! Looks like you had a fun day Jenny!

Postmarked by Amy

Today's Postmarked Wednesdays cards were made by the oh-so-talented Amy Tan - better known as Amy Tangerine:
Supplies: Mountain Park Paper (35231) - City Park, Gazeebo (42176) - Remarks, Gryffin Park Paper (35240) - City Park

Amy says, "I made this for a friend who just adopted a 7 month old Dachshund that actually looks much like the sticker. I wanted to keep it simple so I stitched the title. To cover up the stitching on the back, I added a piece of patterned paper"

And for good measure, here's a second sweet card made by Amy:

Supplies: Mountain Park Paper (35231) - City Park, Forest Grove Paper (35226) - City Park, Greenbelt Gardens Paper (35241) - City Park, Skyline Park Paper (35235) - City Park, Gazeebo (42176) - Remarks, Flat Robin's Egg (53018) - Thickers, Assorted Brads (85517) - Elements

Amy shares, "I thought it would be fun to include a photo on this card for my boyfriend. The colors of City Park go perfectly with the colors in the photo, which was taken in Paris. The wallet sized picture fits nicely on the 6 x 6" card."

Lovely lovely cards Amy!

Denver, CO Mini Album by Alisha

Alisha Gordon has created the CUTEST mini album featuring City Park products to share with you today!

Supplies: Central Park Paper (35223) - City Park, Lakeside Park Paper (35224) - City Park, Rock Creek Gardens Paper (35225) - City Park, Forest Gardens Paper (35226) City Park, Mountain Park Paper (35231) - City Park, Golden Gate Park Paper (35244) - City Park, Skyline Park Paper (35235) - City Park, Reinforced Decorative Tags (77244) - Bits, Swing (72003) - Delights, Slide (72004) - Delights, Gazeebo (42176) - Remarks Dimensional Stickers, Rockabye White (42954) - Thickers, Hannah & Henry (42541) - Remarks

Alisha shares, "My family and I are gearing up for our annual family trip coming up in the next few weeks and I decided I wanted to take a pre-made album along with me to document the trip as we go. That way I am able to fill in the pages with all the fun things we did and remember it more accurately than I would after I came home.

"I started by creating the pages of my album, I went with the banner style because it's super cute and pairing it with the new City Park line fit perfectly! I cut my pages to 7 1/2 x 5" and notched the edges of each paper. It's all held together with ribbon. This is a temporary binding for me, but this way I can keep adding more pages or fun memorabilia just by hole punching it and sliding it in. I also went through my pages and added journaling lines so I won't forget to write something down. I left my self plenty of space if I wanted to keep going. I hope you all enjoy and I can't wait to fill up my pages with my adventure!"

I love the unique shape of this banner! And what a great idea to take a pre-made mini album with you while you vacation so you can fill it up as the days go by and you won't forget any important details. Great job Alisha!

City Park Week

This week we'll be focusing on product from the brand new City Park line!

City Park feels like the perfect day, when the sun is shining, breeze is blowing, and birds are singing. Evoking the atmosphere of Central Park, this bright, fun, everyday line captures the sweet essence of park animals, nature, and recreation in a happy-go-lucky head-in-the-clouds kind of way. And what better way to start off the week than with a layout made by a gal who lives right by Central Park? That's right, today's layout was made by none other than long-time AC pal Kelly Purkey:

Supplies: Central Park Paper (35223) - City Park, Lakeside Park Paper (35224) - City Park, Forest Gardens Paper (35226) - City Park, Mountain Park Paper (35231) - City Park, Golden Gate Park Paper (35244) - City Park, Gazeebo (42176) - Remarks Dimensional Stickers, City Park Assorted Brads (85517) - Elements, Stroll Grasshopper (53115) - Thickers

Kelly says, "Being a girl who frequents her city parks, this line is perfect for me! I love the bright, happy colors and the fun pinks mixed with blues and greens. For my page I had fun layering together the different papers and added a little strip of grass made with a border punch."

I think this layout totally embodies the essence of the City Park line! Thanks for sharing Kelly!

Patterned Paper Week Challenge!

Congrats to last week's Favorite Technique challenge winner, Lisa Warren:

Your challenge for this week:

1. The card, layout, or project must be posted to an online gallery or blog with American Crafts in your supply list.

2. You must leave a comment on this blog post with a link to your layout online. You also must fill in your email address when posting your comment on this blog post so we can notify you if you've won.

3. Projects and links must be posted by midnight PST on Thursday, September 30th.

The final patterned paper themed layout this week was made by Jen Jockisch:

Supplies: 12x12 Robin's Egg Cardstock (71063) - AC Cardstock, Greenbelt Gardens Paper (35241) - City Park, Fashionable Peony Paper (35266) - Dear Lizy Enchanted, Lake View Court Paper (35060) -  Abode, Flowering Fields Paper (35086) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Sir Paper (35014) - Letterbox, Response Paper (35028) - Letterbox, Crestview Court Paper (35074) - Abode, Roosevelt Way Paper ( 35071) - Abode, Sweet Strawberry Paper (35100) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Cheerful Cherry Paper (35084) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Friendly Fern Paper (35092) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Sesame Parkway Paper (35058) - Abode, Sunny Spot Paper (35081) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Frolic (42705) - Remarks, Emerald Black (53020) - Thickers, Bliss Accents Coffee (53033) - Thickers, Precision Pen .01 Black (62301) - Pens and Markers, Dimensional Dots (61709) - Adhesives

Jen shares, "My focus this month was patterned paper, which was perfect for me since my favorite scrapbooking item is patterned paper. I love to mix and layer and cut and punch papers. For this page, I used mostly scraps. I cut them down to small sizes and then punched out negatives of butterflies and circles and added foam adhesive to give it depth."

I love how Jen combined papers from lots of different lines and they all look great together! Have a great weekend, see you back here on Monday!

Layout by Paige and Patterned Paper Giveaway Winner!

Today I'm sharing a layout made by me, Paige Evans:

Supplies: 12 x 12 Kraft Cardstock (71464) - AC Cardstock, Golden Gleam Paper (35090) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Friendly Fern Paper (35092) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Humble Honeybee Paper (35094) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Sweet Strawberry Paper (35100) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Lake View Court Paper (35060) - Abode, Cherryhill Ave. Paper (35063) - Abode, Somerdale Road Paper (35067) - Abode, Roosevelt Way Paper (35071) - Abode, Crestview Court Paper (35074) - Abode, Maple Drive Paper (35076) - Abode, Skyline Drive Paper (35078) - Abode, Orchid Paper (35033) - I Do, Peonies Paper (35035) - I Do, Anthurium Paper (35036) - I Do, Freesia Paper (35039) - I Do, Dahlias Paper (35044) - I Do, Warm Wishes Paper (35007) - Letterbox, Greetings Paper (35009) - Letterbox, With Love Paper (35011) - Letterbox, Cheers Paper (35016) - Letterbox, Adieu Paper (35022) - Letterbox, Compliments Paper (35026) - Letterbox, Response Paper (35028) - Letterbox, Bodacious Banana Paper (35110) - Heat Wave, Kahuna Kiwi Paper (35116) - Heat Wave, Rockabye White (42954) - Thickers, Lullaby Sunflower (42959) - Thickers, Salutations Chestnut (53001) - Thickers, Patchwork Aqua (42974) - Thickers, Niki Riki Grapefruit (53040) - Thickers, Primaries Glitter Buttons (85420) - Elements, Pastels Glitter Buttons (85421) - Elements, Tropicals Glitter Buttons (85422) - Elements, Brights Glitter Buttons (85423) - Elements, Metallic Glitter Buttons (85424) - Elements, Primaries Round Buttons (85435) - Elements, Pastels Round Buttons (85436) - Elements, Tropicals Round Buttons (85437) - Elements, Brights Round Buttons (85438) - Elements, Sentiments Large Set (59004) - Stamping, Large Acrylic Block (59010) - Stamping, Solid Glue Runner (61711) - This To That, .03 Black Precision Pen (62311) - Pens & Markers

What I love about American Crafts patterned papers is all the different solid patterns from each line that go together so well. I combined most of the solid patterns from five different lines (Dear Lizzy Spring, Abode, I Do, Letterbox, and Heat Wave), punched a scalloped circle from each paper, cut each circle in half, then created a photo mat for my one picture from the half circles. I love all the bright colors and fun patterns and how they bring out the colors in the photo. I always make sure to stock up on the solid patterns because I use them the most on my projects!

Also, I'd like to announce the winner from the Patterned Paper Giveaway! The randomly selected winner is HeatherC:

Congrats Heather, an email has been sent to you! Hope everyone has a great day!

Postmarked Wednesday with Susan

Today's Postmarked Wednesday cards are brought to you by card-maker extraordinaire Susan Weinroth:

Supplies: Sandy (78032) - Details, Shello (42135) - Remarks, Chillin (42136) - Remarks, Maverick Mango Paper (35111) - Heat Wave, Roosevelt Way Paper (35071) - Abode, Lucky Lime Paper (35106) - Heat Wave, Pretty Papaya Paper (35109) - Heat Wave, Lake View Court Paper (35060) - Abode, Tangerine Tidal Wave Paper (35113) - Heat Wave, Pearl Specialty Cardstock Pack (71219) - AC Cardstock, Robin's Egg Cardstock (71063) - AC Cardstock

Susan says, "I made the most out of minimal embellishments and LOTS of patterned paper on these two cards. I love that American Crafts makes it such a breeze - with similar color schemes in both the Abode and Heat Wave collections - to combine patterned papers easily!"

Who's ready for a day at the beach now?! Thanks for sharing these cards Susan!

Canvas by Shannon Zickel

Shannon Zickel made a great project to share with you today featuring patterned paper:

Supplies: Madam Paper (35025) - Letterbox, Sir Paper (35014) - Letterbox, Reply Paper (35010) - Letterbox, Post Script Paper (35023) - Letterbox, With Love Paper (35011) - Letterbox, Compliments Paper (35026) - Letterbox, Hello Paper (35018) - Letterbox, Goodbye Paper (35012) - Letterbox, Sweet Strawberry Paper (35100) - Dear Lizzy Spring, Jewelry Box Chestnut (42848) - Thickers

Shannon says, "I needed something homey and decorative for my office at work so I decided to make a reminder to 'be happy.'  I had been working on a project and had scraps of these papers laying on my table - with some craft glue and a small canvas I was able to create this piece in short order. A tip to recreate: start with three larger strips - mine were the green dot strip along the left edge, the brown strip just above the bottom edge and the red strawberry strip in the top left quadrant.  Once these three papers are placed work in smaller strips around them."

Great way to use up those scraps and create a happy piece of art in the process!

Patterned Paper Giveaway!

What has been your favorite patterned paper line American Crafts has introduced during 2010 and what have you loved about it?  Post your answer in a comment below (one comment per person please). One lucky winner will be chosen at random to win all of the papers in your favorite current patterned paper line. Submit your comments by Wednesday at Midnight PST. I'll announce the winner Thursday morning. Good luck!

Patterned Paper Week

American Crafts is well known for their bright colors and timelessly designed patterned papers, which is the theme for this week!

The first project is a fabulous layout by Sarah de Guzman:

Supplies: 12x12 Cardstock Salmon (71462) – AC Cardstock, Honeydew Hop Paper (35088) – Dear Lizzy, Golden Gleam Paper (35090) – Dear Lizzy, Humble Honeybee Paper (35094) – Dear Lizzy, Lively (89288) – Ribbon, Fancy (42706) – Remarks, Bliss Coffee (53030) – Thickers, Bliss Accents Coffee (53034) – Thickers

Sarah shares, "Patterned paper has so much versatility, so I wanted to show off the different patterns of the Dear Lizzy line. I punched out circles with a few sheets of patterned paper to create a background for my photo. Then, I embellished on top of my circles with chipboard and stickers to add that extra pizazz to my page."

What a great way to showcase lots of different patterns on one layout - thanks for sharing Sarah!