Amy's Cord Holders

We would like to introduce you to Amy. She helps out in the Art Studio when she is not busy with college, writing, photography, or looking up random facts on her iPod Touch. She got this project idea from one of her favorite blogs, Apartment Therapy. It is really simple and all you need are a few supplies you probably already have.


Yep, you guessed it. Those are toilet paper rolls.


She used Bridgeport's Pavilion paper for this one.


She used Bridgeport's Tennis Court paper for this one. No more excuses for ugly loose cords. Thanks, Amy!

Jocelyn Decor & More

The Jocelyn collection is not just for scrapbookers. There are a lot of amazing craft projects you can make. We made this collection of projects for the CHA show and Mandi put them together in our retail store. In case you didn't know we have an outlet store. So, if you are ever in the Logan, Utah area, stop by and check it out.


Try mod-podging some home decor items you already have for a new look. We used velvet paper for the mirror. A few simple embellishments go a long way.


Customize items with rub-ons. You'll be surprised by how many different surfaces they work on.


Cover journals, books, & binders. There are so many possibilities - cards, mod-podge hangers (you could hang scrapbook layouts from these), magnets, banners...

March Calendar Page

The March calendar page is finally here! This month was a little later than normal because we wanted to make sure you could purchase all the products to make this layout. We are happy to announce that new releases, including Jocelyn will be available to purchase on our website very soon.

We started this calendar in January to help you with our challenge to scrapbook one page each month in 2010. Each month we will post a FREE monthly calendar download and a single-page scrapbook layout idea. If you create the layout, print off the calendar page & slip them into a sheet protector, you will have a calendar to display with your own photos. Then, in December you will have twelve great layouts completed to represent the year!

March 2010:
Jocelyn assortment pack
Jocelyn page titles
Jocelyn gems
Jocelyn rub-ons
Jocelyn epoxy stickers

3rd Thursday - Happy Day

Club SEI's March kit features Happy Day. This collection has cheerful colors and patterns. The glitter adds the perfect amount of sparkle. Click here to see what club members can make with this kit. If you aren't a club member, you can still sign-up and receive this kit.



These projects were made with some of the click-n-prints and leftovers from March's club kit. We love all the fun projects that come in this kit. Happy 3rd Thursday!

Mustache & Lips Gloves

If you are tired of winter and want to have some fun with your gloves, this is project is for you! First, purchase one red and one black iron-on sheet. Then, follow the directions on the package to cut your shapes out and iron them onto your gloves.

Giveaway Winner

Thank you for all your comments on AmberLee's wonderful posts last week. We love hearing what you like and appreciate you helping us make our guest bloggers feel welcome. Now, the giveaway winner as selected by random.org is:


Congratulations Melissa! Now all you need to do is send your mailing address to us at seiblog(at)shopsei(dot)com to claim your Claire goodies.


Also, don't worry, we haven't forgotten about this month's calendar page so stay tuned. We hope you had an amazing Valentine's Day yesterday & will have a Happy President's Day today!

Inviting Claire to Breakfast + Giveaway

SEI paper is so yummy. I am in love with the Claire collection in particular. Some papers are cozy and quilted, others have a glitzy sheen, some are tiny polite patterns, others big easy florals. It's sensory heaven. So much paper pleasure all in the same pack.


And so in honor of this yummy paper experience, I put together a little breakfast banquet for you, starring SEI's Claire collection. And if you have a few pages of SEI, and a few eggs in the fridge (or in the coop!), maybe you'll consider having your own banquet this Sunday morning.


there's nothing like a softboiled egg and the morning paper (okay, I don't get the paper, how about the morning Google Reader feed?)


the claw footed egg (i did this with just the regular stock, for Sunday I'll be mounting the paper on chipboard)


napkin rings can slide off and double as jewelry


who says cupcakes have to have all the fun? muffins deserve some love too.


granola for the road

Thanks for having me, SEI. It's been an honor. And a happy Valentines day weekend to everyone.

AmberLee, thank you for sharing your creative ideas, inspiration, and projects with us this week! We love GiversLog and have enjoyed getting to know you.

Readers, show AmberLee your gratitude for a wonderful week by leaving a comment on this post. Tell us which post was your favorite this week and you will be entered into a giveaway for a chance to win some of the Claire products AmberLee used today.

Just leave your comment by Sunday February 14th at midnight and we will announce the winner Monday. Be sure to check back next week to see if you are the winner because if we don't hear from the winner by February 22nd we will pick a new winner!

Bookmark of the Month Club

I often find myself using old library receipts as bookmarks. I've decided I need something prettier and plan to commission a bookmark from my daughter. The only problem is, as bad as this sounds, I somehow misplaced the last bookmark she made me. So maybe I'll commission a whole collection of bookmarks, one for each month of the year. I'm always using more than one book at a time anyway. Maybe we can turn it into a Bookmark of the Month Club and make bookmarks for a few other relatives. I've begun collecting ideas, and should have enough to get us through July at least (ah, doesn't July sound nice right now?). If you need more mailable gift ideas, I hope you'll stop by my gift guide and take a look around.


Valentine bookmark by Martha
I'm inspired by what Stephomodo is doing with these vintage playing cards
Magnetic bookmark featured on ISLY
Designs by this artist are a definite inspiration (found via here)
Aren't these embroidered bookmarks incredible? (found via here)
Pretty corner bookmark by Chocolate on my Cranium

Love Delivered with Lunch

I write on my daughter's banana every day before I put it in her lunch. It's a good exercise in creative writing, coming up with subject matter to fill a banana a day. But I am fond of sending love notes of all sorts, especially notes in lunches. And I've seen a few other varieties you might consider sending off with someone before Valentines.

I love the idea of
skewering a sandwich with a love flag or maybe a love umbrella
or including a typographic napkin
or a loving egg (isn't bento the coolest?)
or repurposing a bread clip
or including the love message in a secret envelope
or an edible envelope (via here)
or sending the whole shebang in something with character.

And finally, I'm not sure if you've ever seen this one, but here is a printable survey to tuck inside, which I completely love.

A Few Favorite Garlands

Garlands are one of my favorite things. Nothing cheers up a room faster (or mails easier). We love putting them together to send to grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles in the mail. And it is another great way to put your pretty paper scraps to great use. So I am always collecting ideas. I've kept up a little bit of a collection in this post that I am always adding to. But I've saved up a few more just to share with you.


We made this garland based on the this tutorial from the purlbee.


This is a paper version of the same garland. I tucked it inside a tube of mini m&m s and sent it off for under two bucks. (It was my first mailing in a series I am doing of gifts that weigh 13 ounces or less, and therefore qualify for inexpensive, first-class postage in the U.S.)


And finally a few more: top left (via here), right, bottom left (via here), right (via here).

5 Mediums that Rock My World

I love the tactile experience of working with paper. The feel of scoring and folding and the sound of the snipping. And once you're hooked on paper, it's hard to stop there. I find I'm always on the lookout for other mediums that I can test out and put to good use. Here are five I've been using a lot of this year.


Freezer Paper
I can't believe I've lived without this until now. Some day I will get a Yudu, but until then, I'm quite happy putting my $1 craft knife to work on a roll of freezer paper, then doing a little single-color screen prints with my $1 sponge roller. Pictured is a shadow puppet theatre I put together using this method along with some Elmer's glue to make some designs by batik. We also screenprinted a shirt for my husband for last father's day. Next I'd like to do a set of napkins.


Glassine
I love using this in combo with pretty papers. And adding a little envelope to a scrap layout would be the perfect place to tuck away tickets. If you go here, you can see what all kinds of talented artists are doing with the stuff. It also makes great gift wrap, just add a label (like these free printables) and you're ready to go.


My Sticker Maker
My daughter got a simple, inexpensive sticker maker for Christmas two years ago and the poor dear didn't realize she'd be sharing with her mother all the time. I love making tags and stickers out of all my pretty scraps. When I wrap up a gift in tissue paper, I just pull out a circle punch and cut a piece from some pretty paper and turn it into a sticker to make a pretty seal. This is also a fun way of making return address labels.


Milk Jugs
You heard me right. These little containers (from Family Fun) are made from milk jugs and are amazing for organizing little bits. I've just made a whole stack of them for collecting my scraps of ribbon, now as we make our way through more gallons of milk, I'm making a stack of these boxes to organize my paper scraps.


Thread
It is the simplest thing to wrap a gift with a straight stitch on my sewing machine. It's a lifesaver for odd-shaped packages. Why didn't I know this sooner?

Guest Blogger, AmberLee Fawson

We are happy to introduce AmberLee as next week's guest blogger. She is the creative mind behind one of the our favorite blogs, GiversLog. It is full of lovely photos, pretty packages, and great ideas.

Hello everyone! I'm AmberLee and am thrilled to be a part of your week by posting here at SEI. It is an honor to get to join in the creative conversation, and I hope I can give you something you can put to good use.

I started GiversLog just over a year ago. I decided I'd blog strictly about gifts, and I stick to it pretty well (except for when I blog about books or sandwiches). It turns out it's pretty fun to catalog handmade gifts, thoughtful gestures, party favors, care packages and the like.

I am a complete paper nerd. What is it about paper? When some women need to treat themselves, they buy a pair of stilettos. When I need to treat myself, I like to buy a stack of brightly colored cardstock, or glassine envelopes, or a roll of kraft paper, or a new paper punch...I'm getting carried away. This paper infatuation is one of the reasons I never tire of cataloging gift wrap ideas.

I have a reputation for taking my camera everywhere. Who says you can't enjoy life and document it at the same time? I also have a reputation for taking pictures of food. I don't think I yet have more pictures of food than of my children, but it's close.

Oh yes, I have children. Three of them. And they are paper nerds too. I keep craft supplies where they can reach them, and occasionally I have to tell them to put down the glue and zig zag scissors and go play outside.

I prefer to eat my bananas with a spoon.

Other things I love include frolicking, public libraries, living in the country, a sunny day in a big city, hot chocolate, a well-organized drawer, idle time, my le cruset, long runs, good friends, cheap postage, summer evenings, moon roofs, blank notebooks, and hot sauce with breakfast.

Challenge #2 - Layout Sketch

Did anyone feel like the Juliette layout from Tuesday looked familiar? That is because we used this WinterSong layout from our Think Outside the Box post to make the sketch. If you are happy with the way a layout turned out, go ahead and reuse the idea with new papers and it will feel new again!


Our challenge for the month of February is to make a layout using this sketch. If you need some ideas, check Tuesday's post or this WinterSong layout.


To participate in the challenge:
1. Create 1 or more scrapbook layouts, using this sketch as a guide.
2. Use at least 2 SEI products.
3. Comment on this post stating what SEI products you used.
4. Make a link in your comment to an image of your project or e-mail it to us.
5. Do it by March 1st.

Thanks to those of you that participated in January's challenge. Check out the Attainable Treasure's blog for more info on this project.


Also, take a peek at the Glue Dots & Glitter blog for more info on these magnets and more of Alaina's amazing creations!

Juliette Layout

We made this layout using the Juliette paper collection. Here are the complete instructions:

1. Cut First Kiss (back) 9.75 x 9.75 and attach to bottom right First Kiss 12 x 12.
2. Cut Sweet Perfume 6 x 9.75 and attach to right side of First Kiss (back).
3. Cut Linda's Homage 8.75 x 5.5 and attach to right side as shown.
4. Cut Sweet Perfume (back) 9.75 x 1 and attach below Linda's Homage.
5. String ribbons through chiplet and attach to Sweet Perfume (back).
6. Attach photo.
7. Layer doilies cut from Linda's Homage paper, chiplets, die-cut accents, doilies, epoxy stickers, and rhinestones from rub-on sheet as shown.

January 2010 Recap

The month of love is here! That means it's time for the January recap:


• Projects - Mandi's resolve layout, be mine banner, calendar page, & magnet makeover
• Announcements - Our first challenge, give-away winner, 3rd Thursday, & feature
• Guest Blogger - Eric Erickson's intro, road trip layout, pop-up layout, puzzle life layout, mix n' match layouts, & favorite embellishments and techniques