The Big Reveal...SCT Spring 2015 issue.

Yay! it is finally here...the BIG reveal....

The Spring 2015 issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today!

I am so thrilled to be a part of the 2015 spring issue which goes live today in stores, with subscribers around the world and on the SCT website for free download or subscription!  I wanted to share in the excitement by sharing the  links to this issue with you...because it is one not to be missed!

Here are some sneaks of my page included in the magazine:

You'll be needing these important links:

• shop sct
• like SCT on facebook
• follow SCT on twitter
• follow their pinterest boards
• watch their YouTube videos
• follow SCT on Intagram @sctmagazine
• join SCT at a Crop & Create event (so much fun!)

How to use 6x6 and 8x8 paper pads!

Do you squirrel away your 8x8 & 6x6 paper pads like I do?? I look at them & feel bad that I am not actually using them, so thought I'd challenge myself to try. This is the result!

8x8 pads don't have to be limited to mini books, I used 5 pages from a 8x8 pad to create the entire layered background on this double page. 

I am proud to share it was published in a local print magazine: Scrapping & Kei. Many thanks to Liezel & the team for selecting it.  

It page about one of my closest friends, Lisa. Everything about the page is a reflection of who she is. It is a gift for her birthday to be hung in her bedroom :)

• She is a girly girl
• Loves the pretty things in life.
• Loves gold accessories & home decor accents.
• Crazy about cute critters.
• One of the strongest people I know. 
• Has beautiful, kind & thoughtful personality.

Hello my Name is Lisa by Kim Watson

Supplies: Digital supplies: Actions by Sweet Shoppe; Cardstock: +Bazzill Basics Paper ; Patterned paper: +Cosmo Cricket , +Glitz Design ; Stickers, Paper leaves, Gold Brads: +American Crafts; Frame: Jillibean Soup; Tags: Elle Studio; Wooden Veneer: +Freckled Fawn, Cosmo Cricket; Fabric pom-pom: +Basic Grey; Stamp, Ink: +My Favorite Things Stamps; Mist: Maya Road, +Ranger Ink ; Stencils: The Crafters Workshop; Adhesive: +TombowUSA , +Thermoweb , 3L; Tools: Scissors, Mat & Trimmer: +Fiskars ; Other: Typewriter, Vellum, Buttons. 

How-to create the collage background:

• Select 'muted' co-ordinating paper designs.
• Cut the pages into different width paper strips.
• Layer over one another to create a well balanced collage.
• Adhere along the top edges of the paper only leaving the bottoms loose for 3 dimensional texture.
• Mist entire page with opaque white mist. Allow enough drying time. (White takes longer than usual colors.)
• Splatter with highlight color and paint water color dots in a 3rd color, creating an interesting background.
• Once dry, add decorative stitching.
• Complete your page on top of patch-worked background. 

Paper leaves, journaling onto vellum, buttons, brads & tags make this page a winner! 

My title was matted onto a big stamped image by My Favorite Things stamps...isn't it divine! More buttons, a heart badge & glittered bling add lovely focal points to the page.

I hope this technique has inspired you to haul out those smaller pads & get them onto a scrapbook page.

I'm glad you stopped by!

symbolism through motif + masterful scrapbook design

So how do you add energy to your pages? Is there more than meets the eye? Have you ever thought about why you chose the colors you do or why some motifs better suit a page theme than others? 

This page was an assignment for Papercrafts & Scrapbooking where I had to interpret a digital page into a traditional scrapbook page. To me this page is more about the message & emotion of the moment than the techniques. Yet the design techniques are what bring this page to life.

Let's look at my thoughts behind the page:

• Arrows help create movement. They speak of busy-ness, activity,  action, life according to an 8 year old.
• The zig-zags speak to me of frenetic directional changes & contrast. The unpredictability of a growing boy who is discovering himself and the world.
• The underground map mask, I used as a background, speaks of being a city boy.
• All the different layers I have used speaks, of life here as we know it. A collage of bits that help to mould & shape him. The things that make him happy, like visits to museums, art galleries....yet his innocence allows him to find complete joy in chasing pigeons or flopping down on the grass, arms wide embracing his world. 
• The title speaks loudly about the carefree trusting attitude of a little guy happy in his own skin. A boy who loves his life and is excited by what the future holds. A person untainted by cynicism. 
• Using yellow teamed with yellow as the accent palette,  gives the feeling of warms, happy energy mixed with a hint of cool anticipation. 
• Lastly the x2 arrow shaped journal blocks are part of the grounding elements. By facing them inwards towards the center, they are indicative of how, no matter what our circumstances, our lives are mapped out & will follow the path pre-destined. That each moment is to be treasured, each decision a privilege.

This Life by Kim Watson

 (This page, as seen in the Nov 2013 issue of  Papercrafts and Scrapbooking. Posted with prior permission by the Creative Crafts Group) 

Supplies: Simple Stries, +Crafters Workshop, +Technique Tuesday, +Thermoweb, +Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, Typewriter. 
So I urge you to delve deeper into your processes behind your pages. You will be surprised at the subliminal crafting going on without you even realising it. 

+Debbie Hodge  says: 'Motif, typeface, and styling are essential to cuing obvious story elements and for enlarging on character, setting and theme and for evoking the mood that will get your viewers to identify with the reason behind your scrapbook page".

Remember to join us at 11am ET for a live interview with myself, Debbie Hodge & the team @MasterfulScrapbookdesign. I look forward to chatting with you later.

Got the cover + Masterful Scrapping

Once again I am blown away by the talent & intellect of some of the wonderful people I get to work with in the Scrapbooking Industry.  

Yesterday Process Play ebook went live over at Masterful Scrapbook Design and I am very excited and honored to be invited back as one of the Guest Teachers! This issue is clever, informative & full of wonderful tips & tricks to help even the most advanced designer get the most out of her creative process. Once again +Debbie Hodge, +Tami Taylor & +Amy Kingsford have outdone themselves. Thank you for having me join you & the rest of the talented teachers once again!

The other teachers include +Carrie Arick, +Leah Farquharson, +Lynn Grieveson, +Sue Althouse 

If you aren't a subscriber...I recommend you reconsider & sign up. 
The content ROCKS!!

(PS: That is my page, 'Capture' on the cover...I'm stoked!)

SNEAKS of my the pages!

Many thanks to +FancyPantsDesigns, Elle's Studio & American Crafts for the amazing products used for these projects. 

 Happy Friday peeps!

FREE cut file + published layout.

Being Thursday, means the house is tidied after last nights Wednesday night Believers get-together...I can finally get down to some much needed crafty-catch up & writing. 

I am so grateful to have had a bunch pages published this year in Paper crafts & Scrapbooking magazine. I thought it might be fun to post a couple of them here too. This one, a double page from the January 2014 issue of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking (page 100), using supplies from  Fancy Pants Designs,  Elle's Studio & journal card by Technique Tuesday.  

Sweet Surprise by Kim Watson

TIP: I didn't have the perfect color cardstock for my title, so cut it in white cardstock & spritzed it with October Afternoon sprinkers to perfectly match the green in the striped patterned paper.

For those of you with electronic die-cutting machines, I have made this cut file available for download in a couple of file types. See below for links.

Sweet Surprise cutfile set by Kim Watson 

Download link>>

These cute printables also available online at January 2014 issue of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking.

Download link>>

Download link>>

Download link>>

CK Nov/Dec 2013 issue!

Did you notice this awesome Nov/Dec 2013 CK issue in stores? Isn't it awesome?! I still can't believe it is the last of an era. The last Creating Keepsakes mag to ever be published in print- Boohoo! Flipping through it, I can only but wonder why? I mean I could be a tad biased but this issue rocks! The projects, article, tips & creative tutorials are fabulous! 

After 4 years on their Creative Team as a Dream Teamer, it is so sad for me. I miss the editors who taught me so much over the years. They weren't only amazing to work with but many of them have become good friends too. Getting used to the 'new' way of working with the team of 'Paper Crafting & Scrapbooking'  is taking some adjustment too. I miss how it was.... sigh! 

Anyway... what can we do right? Life moves on.

As so aptly put by a rather eloquent penguin: "Tuck & roll gentlemen, tuck & roll!!". 

So.. I am looking forward with anticipation, to watching & hopefully being involved in, where this new publication is headed for 2014. Take a look inside for a hint at what you will be missing if you don't buy it :) 

Just like every issue of Creating Keepsakes in this magazine you’ll find CK Sketches (a two-page layout with spots for 10 photos), Simple Solutions for Fast Pages (ideas for quick holiday pages), Photo Tricks (tips for taking photos without using your flash), Latest & Greatest (look for chalkboard products, a pocket scrapbooking tool, paper collections, and more), and 10 Minute Tricks (a fun wintery layout with a free download). Plus, the bonus sketches are included on a two-page section you can print or remove from your magazine.

AND some news I am real proud of... I have had another feature published. In this issue I wrote: The Holiday Trim article.  

In this section you’ll find layouts incorporating trims you’d use during the holidays. Some from gift wraps, others from home decor, but all capture the look of the holidays at your house.

This is a page I designed for it using burlap & hessian. The other talented designers who contributed pages to the feature made my writing that much easier. 

You know who you are...:) 

Joy by Kim Watson

(As seen in the Nov/Dec 2013 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine published with prior permission from the papercrafts group)

Supplies: Piontsettia created using leaf stamps from Cocoa Daisy :) Tags from ChicTags, Papers Chipboard & stickers from Basic Grey, Veneer from Lawn Fawn. 

Now remember, the full issue is available digitally and can be found at the Creating Keepsakes web site under Magazines, Access Current Digital Issue or by clicking here. 

Hope you are planning on getting some holiday crafting in before Thanksgiving? I have a gazillion cards I have to make. Is this time of year is crazy or what! 

Anyway...best I go & save dinner which is on the stove.

Glad you stopped by friends!

July/August CK magazine + Giveaway.

Yay! It's giveaway time again! 

The July/ August CK magazine is hitting the news-stands today & looking mighty fine. Not only because of the uber cute cover designed by the talented Linda Barber, but because the mix of articles & inspiration inside being fabulous too.

As usual when a new issue hits the stands, the fab gals over at Creating Keepsakes give me an extra copy to giveaway to one of you lovely blog readers.  All you have to do is leave me a comment by 9:00 am (MDT) Monday, June 18, telling me what your next summer scrap project is.

For more opportunities to win copies of this amazing issue, hop on over to the blogs of the talented ladies mentioned below, in turn, their blogs will also have a list of links to blogs also giving issues away. That means x15 chances to win!
Autumn Baldwin
Scrapbook Society (Krystina Montemurro)
Erika Hayes

I am honored to have x4 pages in this issue :) Here are a couple of them to entice you to grab yourself a copy from Creating Keepsakes online store, Scrap and Paper Shop. There are some GREAT FREE downloads, techniques & extra content for this issue too, all found here on the Creating Keepsakes website. 

The Power of Inspiration by Kim Watson

“As seen in the July/Aug 2012 of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.”
 
 Mini Golf by Kim Watson

“As seen in the July/Aug 2012 of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.”

Thanks for stopping by & good luck!

Published pages + CK.

Hello happy bloggers. It has been a week since I blogged, I have had withdrawal...I missed you! Reason I have been AWAL is that the whole family has been 'man-down' with some degree of nasty bug or the other. Ick! I am seriously no good with the snotty nose, hacking cough, ratty disposition kinda bug. Needless to say I have the bunch of them on intravenous Vitamin C & probiotics in an attempt to deal with the side affects of the antibiotics. Spring... gotta love to hate it haha!

Anyway... thought on a more cheerful note I thought I'd post some of my published pages. I realised looking through my gallery that there are tons of layouts that I have never posted anywhere online.

Here are a bunch to start with.

All it took was courage by Kim Watson

(As seen in the Creating Keepsakes Budget issue 2011. Published with prior permission from the publisher creatingkeepsakes.com)

My assignment was to create stamped page accents using jars & bottle caps.

A walk in the Park by Kim Watson

(As seen in the Creating Keepsakes Budget issue 2011. Published with prior permission from the publisher creatingkeepsakes.com)

This assignment was to make the most of my stickers sheets I had on hand. Naturally I wouldn't reach for the pretty, twee type designs but I thought I'd challenge myself by trying & I was so pleased with the result. For the cloud background, I made myself a cloud template & misted in layers. The bottom layer had the least amount of mist making it appear lighter in color.

What a Day by Kim Watson

(As seen in the Creating Keepsakes May/June issue 2011. Published with prior permission from the publisher creatingkeepsakes.com)

My assignment was to showcase how to tweak less than perfect photographs & still end up with a great page. My main photo being the focal photograph should really be looking forwards. T looked away at the last minute...rats but I was able to selvedge it by cropping in tight & use his eye direction to help the flow of info around the page. In this case from left to right.

So glad you stopped by!

Shades of sunshine.

This summer has seen a resounding return to shades of yellow in all walks of life...... I am loving the bright happy feeling of well-being it deposits in my soul. Today I feel happy to be alive & at peace, in God's love. So whether mixed with bright white, other shades of yellow or fun fuchsia. It is a color that cannot be over looked as a passing fad. I definitely think it is here to stay!!

Decor

Fashion

Crafting & Fabrics


But scrapbooking materials too.

On the subject of yellow here are a few pages I had in my gallery filled with shades of sunshine.
Surf babe by Kim Watson

Thanks you so much card by Kim Watson
**as seen on the American Crafts blog**

Sunshine girl by Kim Watson

**As seen in the July/August 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

Watch this space for more projects using this color palette!
Happy sunshine day to you all!
KJ