Pebbles, Inc.

Paper crafting, cardmaking, scrapbooking and party supplies

Archives for May 2013

Guest Designer: Betsy Veldman plus a GIVEAWAY!

31
May
52 Comments

Hi everyone! I am so excited to introduce you to this week’s Guest Designer Betsy Veldman!  Let’s get to know Betsy a little better …

Describe yourself in 3 words …  quiet, content, happy.

My guilty pleasure is … sweet creamy coffee late at night.

You’ll never find me without … my phone.

You might be surprised to know that I … am very tall – 5′ 10″ without shoes, so nearly 6′ if I wear any sort of heals!

My least favorite chore is … laundry – it never ends!!!

I started scrapbooking in … 2000, shortly after my oldest was born.

My favorite thing about this hobby is … all of the pretty supplies and…color!  I love playing around with color combos.

If I were a Pebbles product I would be … the floral side of this paper:  BASICS AQUA CHEVRON – it’s my favorite color and the pattern just suits me … soft, feminine, detailed, yet somehow still simple.

“This collection couldn’t be more perfect for boyish projects!  When I was flipping through the Quote Cards I happened across this super hero quote and I just new it was the perfect thing for these photos of my son and nephews!  Super heroes are a big deal at our house.  I had fun filling up the top portion of my layout with the Chipboard Shapes Stickers and filling them up with super hero worthy doodads, many which were cut from the Quote Pad.”

Love You More Chipboard Shapes (732197)
Love You More Journaling & Quote Cards (747221)
Love You More Andy (751422)
Love You More Matty (751421)
Love You More Zach (751424)
Love You More Blake (751420)

“Like I mentioned before, I think this collection is just perfect for boy creations…but not just layouts.  Lots of the elements are great for baby boy cards as well.  I pulled out the Boy of Boy quote card from the pad and paired it with some cute animal stamps for a fun baby boy card.  I love the way the selvedges on the Pebbles papers are decorative — they’re perfect for adding borders to cards and scrapbook pages – it’s a fun bonus!”

Love You More Journaling & Quote Cards (747221)
Basics Apricot Dot (751372)

“One thing I really noticed when working with the Pebbles goodies is how I was inspired just looking through the quote pads.  Like I mentioned above, as soon as I spotted that super hero quote, I knew exactly which photos I wanted to scrapbook.  The same thing happened when I started working with the Love You More girl collection.  This Dance in the Rain quote instantly reminded me of these cute photos I had of my daughter dancing through the puddles last spring.  That cute umbrella paper was the perfect background!”

Love You More Annie (751414)
Love You More Ainsley (751416)
Love You More Emily (751415)
Love You More Journaling & Quote Cards (747222)
Basics Aqua Chevron (751382)
Hip Hip Hooray Dimensional Stitched Circles

“Again, the Quote Cards are perfect for cards too!  Sometimes these can be hard to use for card makers because the quotes just aren’t appropriate for cards, but I think Pebbles did a great job of finding quotes that fit both the cardmaker and scrapbooker!  I added a little “thanks” stamp to create a thank you card using the jumbo “you are awesome” quote card.  I think it’s a great way to say thanks and let someone know just how awesome you think they are!  :-)”

Love You More Journaling & Quote Cards (747222)
Basics Honeycomb Dot (751375)

Thank you so much Betsy for creating so many amazing projects with Pebbles!  And now for a GIVEAWAY!  To enter simply leave a comment on this blog post telling us which of Betsy’s projects was your favorite.  One lucky winner will be chosen at random to win a prize pack full of Pebbles goodies.  Submit your comments by Monday at midnight (EST).  I’ll announce the winner Tuesday morning. Good luck!

Sketchy Thursday

30
May
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For today’s edition of “Sketchy Thursday” we asked some of our design team members to create a project based on this exclusive sketch by Becky Fleck.

“I must admit, I’m usually very intimated by sketches! Instead of helping me, I end up spending more time trying to figure out how to use the sketch and adapt it to my style than I would spend just sitting down with a blank page!  This sketch, however, was so easy to use, and I felt comfortable with it the minute I sat down to create.  I changed a lot of the smaller elements on the sketch, but stayed true to the overall design. I was so excited to use all of the new Lakeside products with these photos I took a couple of weeks ago of my kids playing in the thousands of flower petals that had fallen in our driveway!”  – Emily Spahn, Pebbles Design Team Member

Lakeside Chalkboard (751468)
Lakeside Trail Map (751460)
Lakeside Bouquet (751467)
Lakeside Camp Songs (751469)
Lakeside Wood Veneers (732238)
Lakeside Printed Tags (732235)
Lakeside Chips (732241)
Lakeside Thickers Alpha Stickers (732246)
Lakeside Chalkboard Thickers (732251)
Lakeside Cardstock Stickers (732248)
Lakeside Cardstock Stickers (732249)
Lakeside 6×6 Paper Pad (751473)
Basics Honeycomb Washi Tape (747211)
Love You More Chipboard Vanilla Thickers (732188)

“I switched out the 3 smaller photos in the sketch for a 4×6 photo.  I started out thinking I was pretty close to the sketch, but I think it wound up looking like a layout I would often make anyway.  I absolutely love, love, love the colors and the saturation of the Lakeside line.  This photo was from Mother’s Day this year. So very rare that I get one of the kids and me!”  – Mandie Pierce, Pebbles Design Team Member

Lakeside Wild Flowers (751464)
Lakeside Stargaze (751462)
Lakeside Trail Map (751460)
Lakeside Postcards (751460)
Basics Honeycomb Dot (751375)
Lakeside Phrase Stickers (732248)
Lakeside Accent Stickers (732249)
Lakeside Gift Tags (732235)
Lakeside Die Cut Wood Pieces (732238)
Lakeside Chips (732241)

Whip It Up Wednesday

29
May
2 Comments

“One of the things I love best about the new Lakeside line is the color palette. Lakeside features a stunning combination of warm and cool colors. Here, I separated those two out, using the warm colors to create a more feminine card and the cool colors to create a more masculine card. The woodgrain-patterned paper provides a neutral background and adds texture without bulk. By using the 6 x 6 paper pad, these cards came together quickly with the addition of coordinating sticker and tag embellishments.”  – Vivian Masket, Pebbles Design Team Member

Lakeside Paper Pad 6 x 6 (751473)
Lakeside Printed Tags (732235)
Lakeside Cardstock Stickers (732249)

“When I need a really quick card I like to pull out the washi tape. Pebbles has some really fun ones to choose from and the coordinate with the lines so it is quick and easy to pull a card together.  For these notecards all I needed was the cardstock base, washi, a couple stickers with pop dots and a black pen.  I also did some quick stamping as well.”  – Shawna Webster, Pebbles Design Team Member

Basics Black Washi Tape (747206)
Basics Ash Washi Tape (747207)
Basics Begonia Washi Tape (747209)
Basics Peony Washi Tape (747210)
Basics Honeycomb Washi Tape (747211)
Party with Amy Locurto Accent and Phrase Stickers (732204)
Party with Amy Locurto Accent and Phrase Stickers (732206)

How To Tuesday

28
May
1 Comment

“I have kind of fallen in love with the starburst effect on pages and cards recently so I thought I would give a little how to on how my process happens.  I love this technique because it is not only a good way to use up scraps, but also a good way to add lots of color to pages and cards.”  – Christa Paustenbaugh, Pebbles Design Team Member

This is also a great project to utilize paper pads, which is exactly what I did with my card.  I started with some cardstock and the Lakeside Paper Pad.

I begin the process by cutting a piece of cardstock down to the size I want the starburst to be on the page or card.

I use a ruler and pencil first to mark how big I want the various pieces to be and also number them in order going around the entire cardstock.

As I cut the matching sizes of patterned paper to go with the number cardstock I always number the back of the paper.  I have the memory of a gnat so I would surely confuse which one goes where and have to do a puzzle before getting finished with my project!  No fun for all involved!

After all the pieces are cut I put them back in numbered order to make sure it looks like how I want it to in the end.  I have often switched out and recut some pieces after putting it together because it doesn’t visually look like I wanted it too.  Very easy just to cut a different piece and replace it in the puzzle!

After they are all adhered down on cardstock or patterned paper I almost always sew in between each piece of patterned paper to give it a cohesive look.  You could also ink the edges of the patterned paper pieces if you don’t have a sewing machine or don’t like sewing on your projects.

I don’t worry about the middle not lining up exactly in the middle or stray strings from the sewing.  This is where the sentiment or an embellishment reside when you’re all finished to tie it all together.”

Lakeside 6×6 Paper Pad (751473)
Lakeside Chips (732241)
Lakeside Gift Tags (732235)
Lakeside Die Cut Wood Pieces (732238)

Mix and Match Monday

27
May
2 Comments

It’s Monday again which means we’ll be mixing and matching some Pebbles products to show you just how well our collections can be used with one another.

“For this layout, I mixed and matched items from the Lakeside and Walnut Grove collections. First, I chose to combine navy, red-orange, and aqua. I started off by framing out my layout just like my daughters’ artwork. I added watercolors (in red-orange and navy blue) and embossing (in an aqua and mustard yellow) using some of my favorite Pebbles stamps. This was a fun layout to make! I got artsy with it just like my girls.” – Renee Zwirek, Pebbles Design Team Member

Lakeside Stargaze (751462)
Lakeside Wildflowers (751464)
Lakeside Camp Songs (751469)
Lakeside Printed Tags (732235)
Walnut Grove Mary (751299)
Walnut Grove Laura (751300)
Walnut Grove Dimensional Stickers (732118)
Walnut Grove Accent & Phrase Stickers (732119)
Walnut Grove Masking Tape Stickers (732120)
Walnut Grove Clothes Pins (747190)
Walnut Grove Layered Paper Flowers (747191)
Basics Glitter Foam Honeycomb Thickers (732175)
Basics Peony Washi Tape (747210)
Ever After Clear Stamps (747105)
Country Picnic Clear Stamps (747162)
With Love Clear Stamps (747171)

“My son is an avid drawer. He spends most of his free time drawing and coloring in. I wanted to capture this special talent in his life by also including an actual drawing of his on my layout. The Lakeside Stargaze pattern paper was a natural fit for my layout. I trimmed it to size and added the paper above and below the drawing. I then chose one of the journaling cards that matched my theme and slipped it under the drawing. I matted my photo on a yellow printed glassine bag, I just trimmed it to fit. I added arrows around it to highlight the stargaze word. For my journaling I printed it onto a journaling card from the Basics collection.”  – Kim Jeffress, Pebbles Design Team Member

Lakeside Stargaze  (751462)